Post by Sharon Faulkner on Aug 8, 2006 21:35:17 GMT -5
Bats inhabiting local bridge die from heat
by DAVID SIDERS dsiders@recordnet.com
Aug 4, 2006
STOCKTON - Dozens of bats, weakened by record heat that recently scorched the city, fell from their roost under a bridge in south Stockton. They died or were killed once they landed.
The Mexican free-tailed bats, which do not pant or sweat, regularly emerge from their roosts to hang in a cool breeze. They likely fainted or were pulled down by other bats that fainted, said Dharma Webber, the director of a Placerville-based bat rescue group.
About 75 dead or near-dead bats were collected in two days last week from under a Center Street bridge adjacent to the Greater Stockton Emergency Food Bank on Scotts Avenue, city Animal Control supervisor Tom Ramirez said. Across the city, officials typically collect one or two bats each month, he said.
The bodies and excrement that landed on the hoods of cars parked below tipped officials off to the roost. "Baby bats have been falling all over this state, and they're falling in Stockton," Webber said.
The county Environmental Health Department ordered the city last week to prepare a plan to evict the surviving bats. Had the weather not been so hot, the bats likely would have stayed inside and avoided detection, officials said.
It was unclear Tuesday how many bats remained. Ramirez said there are likely more than 1,000 in the Center Street bridge. Bats are beloved for their appetite for insects, especially crop-assaulting ones. They are removed from public places because of concerns about rabies. Evictions are typically effected by nets that allow bats to escape but prevent their return.
The county's call for the bats' removal alarmed Webber, the director of the California Native Bat Conservancy. The season's young are still unable to fly and could be trapped inside the nets, she said. She added that dying pups would call for their mothers, which would beat themselves against nets in a vain attempt to return. "They'll beat the ends of their wings off trying," Webber said.
The colony won't be ousted until pups can fly, said Laurie Cotulla, assistant director of environmental health. The city has until next Friday to prepare an eviction plan for county officials to consider, Stockton Deputy Public Works Director Gordon MacKay said.
Food bank Executive Director Tim Viall said he hasn't seen any bats since the weather cooled. Patrick Foy, a biologist and spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game, fielded numerous calls about falling bats from several cities when it was hot. He said he has heard of no problem since the weather cooled.
www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060804/NEWS01/608040333/1001
by DAVID SIDERS dsiders@recordnet.com
Aug 4, 2006
STOCKTON - Dozens of bats, weakened by record heat that recently scorched the city, fell from their roost under a bridge in south Stockton. They died or were killed once they landed.
The Mexican free-tailed bats, which do not pant or sweat, regularly emerge from their roosts to hang in a cool breeze. They likely fainted or were pulled down by other bats that fainted, said Dharma Webber, the director of a Placerville-based bat rescue group.
About 75 dead or near-dead bats were collected in two days last week from under a Center Street bridge adjacent to the Greater Stockton Emergency Food Bank on Scotts Avenue, city Animal Control supervisor Tom Ramirez said. Across the city, officials typically collect one or two bats each month, he said.
The bodies and excrement that landed on the hoods of cars parked below tipped officials off to the roost. "Baby bats have been falling all over this state, and they're falling in Stockton," Webber said.
The county Environmental Health Department ordered the city last week to prepare a plan to evict the surviving bats. Had the weather not been so hot, the bats likely would have stayed inside and avoided detection, officials said.
It was unclear Tuesday how many bats remained. Ramirez said there are likely more than 1,000 in the Center Street bridge. Bats are beloved for their appetite for insects, especially crop-assaulting ones. They are removed from public places because of concerns about rabies. Evictions are typically effected by nets that allow bats to escape but prevent their return.
The county's call for the bats' removal alarmed Webber, the director of the California Native Bat Conservancy. The season's young are still unable to fly and could be trapped inside the nets, she said. She added that dying pups would call for their mothers, which would beat themselves against nets in a vain attempt to return. "They'll beat the ends of their wings off trying," Webber said.
The colony won't be ousted until pups can fly, said Laurie Cotulla, assistant director of environmental health. The city has until next Friday to prepare an eviction plan for county officials to consider, Stockton Deputy Public Works Director Gordon MacKay said.
Food bank Executive Director Tim Viall said he hasn't seen any bats since the weather cooled. Patrick Foy, a biologist and spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game, fielded numerous calls about falling bats from several cities when it was hot. He said he has heard of no problem since the weather cooled.
www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060804/NEWS01/608040333/1001