Baja Bats

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BOB HIRSHON (host):

Protecting Baja’s bats. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.

Very little is known about the plants and animals living in the Sierra de las Cacachilas mountains of Southern Baja California. Recently, biologists from the U.S. And Mexico visited the remote region to document its biodiversity. The team was surprised by the number of bats they encountered, including some threatened and endangered species. The area’s many abandoned mines may play a key role in maintaining the healthy bat population, according to wildlife biologist Drew Stokes of the San Diego Natural History Museum. He says the mines provide a safe place for bats to roost and breed.

DREW STOKES (San Diego Natural History Museum):

Knowing that there are large populations occurring in these mines and that these mines could potentially be protected was exciting from a conservation standpoint.

HIRSHON:

He says to protect bats in the mines, metal gates have to be erected that allow the animals to come and go freely, while keeping curious humans out. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.