Batman won’t be there, but you’ll have the chance to feel like him by attending Bat Nights at the Idaho Falls Zoo and Harriman State Park beginning this week.
Bat Nights feature presentations on the history and evolution of bats and the positive impact the winged mammals have on our environment and ecosystem. They are led by Dr. Jericho Whiting, a biology professor at BYU-Idaho.
Bat Nights at the zoo are ticket-based, while those at Harriman State Park are not.
“If you like bats, it’s a great opportunity to see them, because you don’t see them very often,” says Mikayla Khilobok, president of the Fisheries, Range and Wildlife Society at BYU-Idaho. “If you don’t like bats, then it’s a great opportunity to learn about them and see why they’re not so scary. They’re not actually bad. You can see why they’re so cool and not something that we need to be trying to get rid of.”
Eight of the 12 species of bats in Idaho are of conservation concern, as they’ve seen recent declines in the population. This has caused an increase in the bug and pest population throughout the Gem State.
Attendees will have the opportunity to watch bats fly around in the dark at the zoo, but at Harriman State Park, they will literally be surrounded by them.
“They’re just pouring out of the roof, eves and bat boxes they have, and you see thousands of them,” Khilobok said. “Brother Whiting has described it as being in a snow globe of bats. They’re all around you. Some people are a little freaked out at first because you have these tiny little bats shooting past your head, but it’s cool because they dodge around you. It’s a good opportunity to see how good they are at using eco location.”
Bat nights happen once a month at both the Idaho Falls Zoo and Harriman State Park. The first one is this Wednesday at the zoo at 8:30 p.m. Harriman State Park will host its first Bat Night on Friday, June 26 at 7:30 p.m.
In addition to Bat Nights, bat presentations began June 4 and happen every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Idaho Falls Zoo and are also open to the public. They will be held each week until the zoo closes for the season.
For tickets, dates and times and more information on Bat Nights, just go to the Idaho Falls Zoo website.