Post by jonsdigs on Oct 21, 2006 0:35:57 GMT -5
Bats to be evicted from San Antonio River Walk
12:09 PM CDT on Friday, October 20, 2006
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO
A colony of Mexican free-tailed bats that lives under a bridge spanning the San Antonio River will have to find a new home next year after the city seals off its roosting spot this winter.
City officials cite the river's water quality and the nuisance created by bat guano and urine on the city's treasured River Walk as their motives for evicting the bats.
"It's a very strong odor," said Lincoln St. George, downtown river operations superintendent for the Parks and Recreation Department. "My crews go over and deodorize every morning. They collect the guano and throw it in the flower beds."
Nobody has a good count of how many bats live under the Houston Street bridge, which is about 100 feet long. St. George said the bats nestle into piping under the bridge.
"They get up in the crevices," he said. "The specialists from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department came down and they couldn't even determine how many numbers that we've got."
Ron Smudy, assistant director of operations for the city parks department, said the state wildlife officials gave tips for getting rid of the bats, which migrate to Mexico for winter.
"When they leave, we close up all the orifices and crevices in the bridge and then when they come back next year, they obviously look for some alternate location," he said.
Local officials also say bat droppings add to high bacteria levels in the river, which is undergoing a state-mandated cleanup.
San Antonio's bat eviction stands in contrast to Austin, where a colony of 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats roosting under the much-larger Congress Avenue bridge is touted as a tourist draw.
Barbara French, biologist and science officer for Bat Conservation International in Austin, said studies have shown that the Austin bats have not made a significant difference in the water quality of Town Lake below them.
However, she said the state parks department is "very familiar with the appropriate procedures" for removing bats, and she acknowledged that bats may be less welcome in the River Walk's tourism environment of dining and strolling.
She said the bats should be able to find another home when they return.
"What this particular colony will do when they return depends on how large the colony is and what roosts are available for bats in the vicinity," she said. "We do have caves in Central Texas -- that's one advantage. If there isn't sufficient area for the entire colony to roost together, they may have to divide up and go to different roosts."
Article:
www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/102006kvuesariverwalkbatsNEW-cb.58e95f16.html
12:09 PM CDT on Friday, October 20, 2006
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO
A colony of Mexican free-tailed bats that lives under a bridge spanning the San Antonio River will have to find a new home next year after the city seals off its roosting spot this winter.
City officials cite the river's water quality and the nuisance created by bat guano and urine on the city's treasured River Walk as their motives for evicting the bats.
"It's a very strong odor," said Lincoln St. George, downtown river operations superintendent for the Parks and Recreation Department. "My crews go over and deodorize every morning. They collect the guano and throw it in the flower beds."
Nobody has a good count of how many bats live under the Houston Street bridge, which is about 100 feet long. St. George said the bats nestle into piping under the bridge.
"They get up in the crevices," he said. "The specialists from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department came down and they couldn't even determine how many numbers that we've got."
Ron Smudy, assistant director of operations for the city parks department, said the state wildlife officials gave tips for getting rid of the bats, which migrate to Mexico for winter.
"When they leave, we close up all the orifices and crevices in the bridge and then when they come back next year, they obviously look for some alternate location," he said.
Local officials also say bat droppings add to high bacteria levels in the river, which is undergoing a state-mandated cleanup.
San Antonio's bat eviction stands in contrast to Austin, where a colony of 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats roosting under the much-larger Congress Avenue bridge is touted as a tourist draw.
Barbara French, biologist and science officer for Bat Conservation International in Austin, said studies have shown that the Austin bats have not made a significant difference in the water quality of Town Lake below them.
However, she said the state parks department is "very familiar with the appropriate procedures" for removing bats, and she acknowledged that bats may be less welcome in the River Walk's tourism environment of dining and strolling.
She said the bats should be able to find another home when they return.
"What this particular colony will do when they return depends on how large the colony is and what roosts are available for bats in the vicinity," she said. "We do have caves in Central Texas -- that's one advantage. If there isn't sufficient area for the entire colony to roost together, they may have to divide up and go to different roosts."
Article:
www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/102006kvuesariverwalkbatsNEW-cb.58e95f16.html
