171:). These bats fly as much as 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Mexico to this cave. After arriving in the cave, the migrant mothers give birth to pups. An astounding 500 pups have been recorded clinging to 1-square-foot (0.093 m) of the cave walls—an ingenious way for keeping warm; the temperature is around 102 °F (39 °C). The city of San Antonio, a local developer, and conservation groups reached agreement on "a $ 20 million deal" in 2014, to ensure that human development would not encroach on the bats, and that the sky near their cave would remain dark at night.
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While the
Bracken Cave bat roost is often estimated at 20 million, the true number of bats is unknown due to unreliable counting methods. An animal behavior expert named Leonard Ireland, who researched the bats at Bracken Cave in the 1960s and 1970s, once said the clouds of bats emerging from the
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133:, which restores the land to support native vegetation and an abundant variety of wildlife. Bat Conservation International bought the initial 697 acres (282 ha) from the Marbach family in 1992, and has been assisted in preservation efforts by
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From March to
October, the bats at Bracken Cave emerge between 6 and 8 p.m. flying southeast on a collision course with bugs such as cotton bollworth moths and army cut-worm moths being pushed away from crops southwest by winds.
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The bats consume several tons of insects per night, which according to research conducted in 2006, saves cotton farmers in south central Texas about equivalent to $ 1,118,429 in 2023 a year.
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345:"Night Flying Missions vs. Mexican Free-Tailed Bats - Twenty million tiny bats living 11 miles from Randolph pose a giant risk to base aircraft"
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roost in the cave from March to
October making it the largest known concentration of mammals. The cave is located in southern
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The
Bracken Cave is the destination every March or April of over 20,000,000 Mexican free-tailed bats (
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series episode "Freaks of the Sky." It was also featured in the first pilot episode of
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is the summer home to the largest colony of bats in the world. An estimated 20 million
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Bracken Cave has been featured in the media several times since its discovery. The
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cave were up to "30 miles (48 km) long and 20 miles (32 km) wide."
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The cave and undeveloped 1,521 acres (616 ha) around it are owned by
317:"In Texas, The World's Biggest Bat Colony Is Saved From City Sprawl"
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242:"Preserving Bracken Cave and the largest bat colony in the world"
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Bats emerging from
Bracken Cave on the evening of 17 June 2017
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Grove, Noel (December 1988). "Quietly
Conserving Nature".
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178:A Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)
270:. National Geographic Society. Archived from
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385:Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge#Bats
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420:Protected areas of Comal County, Texas
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85:Bracken Bat Cave by day and night
430:Landforms of Comal County, Texas
248:. Bat Conservation International
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27:Cave in Comal County, Texas, US
268:"Amazing Bats of Bracken Cave"
246:Bat Conservation International
131:Bat Conservation International
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294:"The Battle for Bracken Cave"
343:Salinas, Alex (2013-10-12).
315:Page, Eileen (2014-11-01).
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415:Nature reserves in Texas
147:National Geographic Wild
112:Mexican free-tailed bats
298:The Nature Conservancy
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135:The Nature Conservancy
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48:29.68715°N 98.352606°W
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169:Tadarida brasiliensis
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349:Torch - US Air Force
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223:National Geographic
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410:Wild caves
394:Categories
354:2015-05-17
326:2014-11-03
204:References
156:Dirty Jobs
39:98°21′09″W
36:29°41′14″N
230:(6): 822.
163:Bat haven
425:Tadarida
379:See also
302:Archived
141:In media
278:1 March
129:-based
280:2013
254:2020
321:NPR
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
