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Photo by Ben Banahan |
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Phone: 830 683-BATS or 830-683-2287
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Email: |
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The Mexican Free-Tailed Bat ( Tadarida Brasiliensis mexicana) is a subspecies of the Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat (Tadarida brasilensis). The bat is called free-tailed because the last part of the tail is not enveloped in the back membrane as are most bats. This gives all free-tailed bats a distinctive short mouse-like tail. Bats are mammals but otherwise not related to the mouse. As mammals all bats are born live, attached to a placenta, just like the rest of us mammals. The pups suckle from the breast and are helpless. The adult Mexican Free-Tailed Bat is about four inches long and weighs only about fifteen grams (about half an ounce). The pup is the size of the end of your little finger. In the summer this bat can be seen in Texas living in colonies of millions in caves and man-made structures such as bridges. The bats emerge each evening from the Sinkhole and fly to the agricultural areas to the east and southeast where they feast on insect pests, mostly moths. The bats of the Devil’s Sinkhole have a unique problem. The huge cavern has a relatively small opening in the dome. Flying straight up is difficult so the bats circle upwards in a counter clockwise direction. This swirling bats become squeezed into a small spinning column as they emerge from the opening. To the onlooker it is like a dark tornado that lasts about 45 minutes. |
The Mexican Free-Tailed Bat |
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To the onlooker it is like a dark tornado that lasts about 45 minutes |
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To make arrangements for a tour |
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Phone: 830 683-BATS or 830-683-2287
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