The Bat Cave

Posted by Sheri Amsel Dec 26, 2006

One sunny day in early April I descended into the blackest hole in the earth I have ever seen — a 200-year old iron mine in upstate New York. I was on an expedition to photograph bats for an upcoming educational campaign being developed by the Nature Conservancy.

We donned headlamps and pushed into the pitch darkness. It was cool in the mine, about 55° — perfect temperature for hibernating bats. The ceiling was low and in some places I could see, by the light of my headlamp, the small, dark, shapes of bats huddled together sleeping.

Tim Barnett, the head of the Adirondack Nature Conservancy, stopped and shined his flashlight on some squirming bats, that looked vaguely like a furry slumber party. They were waking up and preparing for their first spring foray into the world to hunt for early insects.

Myotis lucifugus — little brown bats, Tim told us, one of seven species of bats taking advantage of old mines as hibernation roosts. Now there’s a twist — mining actually increased the habitat for bats in upstate New York, which had few natural caves previously.

As we walked deeper, more and more bats appeared on the roof of the cave. Bats find their way in the dark using echolocation (see the article for details). We, however, were totally dependent on our small beams. I kept squeezing the pocket of my daypack where I kept the extra batteries just to make sure. The thought of being stranded in this total darkness was frankly terrifying.

Finally we came out into a huge cavern, the size of the rotunda at Grand Central Station. The photographer set up his equipment and started shooting pictures. Our voices echoed off the domed ceiling and bats flew about in the dark, the whistle of their wings audible as they flew near.

By the time we emerged it was late afternoon and the light was blinding. The forest looked the same as when we’d gone in just hours before, but somehow knowing what was under it had changed my perspective forever. Thousands of tiny, furry mammals were making a living the best way they knew how. I had been to the bat cave.

For more information on bats: http://mammals.suite101.com/article.cfm/bats