Q: DURING SUMMER EVENINGS I SEE BATS EVERYWHERE, BUT THEY VANISH COME FALL. WHERE DO THEY GO?
A: The bats bug out when their primary sustenance—bugs—disappears. Most of our furry flying friends, including such unimaginatively named species as the Big Brown Bat and the Little Brown Bat, either leave the state or hibernate in caves, abandoned mines, or attics during winter. This exodus from the trees is especially fraught for the endangered Indiana Bat. Much of the population holes up in a handful of secluded caverns in Southern Indiana. If a wayward hiker disturbs the sleeping hordes, the bats experience stress that can be fatal. So the Indiana Department of Natural Resources keeps these caves under watch and even secures entrances with barriers that restrict human access but allow bats to enter and leave freely. The locations are secret; you have a better chance of finding Bruce Wayne’s lair than those of Indiana Bats.
