Part 13

THE BATS

Of the four types of bats known to occur in the park, only two are closely related. These two are very small as compared to their larger cousins.

The Miller bat, Myotis yumanensis saturatus Miller, is a small bat with the upperparts dark glossy yellowish brown and the underparts golden. The sides, chin and throat are somewhat darker than the underparts. The fur over the entire body is slaty black at the base. The membranes of the wings are blackish.

This bat is found in the transition zone of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and northern California, along the coast.

It has been taken at Longmire, Paradise Valley and Sunset Park. It stays in the forests of the park, only occasionally being seen above the open meadows.

The coloration of the Northwestern long-legged bat, Myotis volans longicrus (True), above is dark brownish, sometimes blackish; the underparts are dusky brown. The ears and wings are blackish. This bat cannot be distinguished in flight from the Miller bat.

It is found in the humid coast and mountain region from Admiralty Island, Alaska, to Monterey County, California.

While it is apparently fairly common at the lower elevations, very few collections have been made. It has been taken at St. Andrews Park (5,500 feet) and at Longmire.

The silver-haired bat, Lasconycteris noctivagans (Le Conte), is a medium sized bat with dark brown or blackish coloration above and below. Many hairs on the back and underparts are tipped with white, with the white tips most numerous on the middle of the back. The wings are dark brown.

This bat occurs on the North American Continent north of Mexico, ranging from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

There is as yet no evidence that this bat actually stays within the park for any length of time. It is believed that it only moves through during migration. Records thus far obtained are during September, at elevations around 5,000 feet.

The Townsend lump-nosed bat, Corynorhinus rafinesque townsendii (Cooper), is of medium size, with long thin ears and two prominent lumps on either side of the nose. The coloration is dark brown above, somewhat lighter below, the base of the fur is dark slaty. The ears, feet and wings are dark brown.

The Townsend lump-nosed bat occurs from southern British Columbia southward through most of Washington and Oregon, and along the coast into California as far south as San Francisco.

Only one record has been obtained from the park, a specimen collected at Longmire in September, 1937.

Specimens in park collection: Miller bat, RNP-85; Northwestern long-legged bat, none; silver-haired bat, none; Townsend lump-nosed bat, RNP-93; Longmire Museum, Park Headquarters.

The bats are among the most feared and least known of any of our mammals. Many people are afraid to have anything to do with them, and everyone is familiar with the old belief that, given the opportunity, a bat will fly into one’s hair. Yet the bats that are so common in North America are weak and entirely harmless. Far from being harmful to man, they serve a most useful function in destroying various insects. The worst problem the bat presents is the habit some species have of using buildings as a place to sleep.

Although possessing a wing-like structure, the bat does not have a wing in the sense that a bird has. The “wing” consists of a much modified hand with very long fingers. This is covered with a thin, but very tough membrane, that enables the animal to fly. The bat’s flight is seemingly aimless, but is actually purposeful. It is during these “drunken flights” that it catches the insects upon which it lives.

By far the most astonishing and marvelous feature about the bat’s anatomy is the delicate mechanism that guides it in flight. This animal has operated on the principle used by radar thousands of years before man discovered the device. The hearing is extremely acute and bats are able to receive sound impulses at a vibration frequency too high for the human ear. During flight it sends out shrill cries of high vibration frequency. As these sounds travel out through space they are reflected back by any object, large or small, that they strike. Through sensitive ears the bat receives these rebounding sounds and thus is aware at all times of the nearness of any object. This explains the bat’s uncanny ability to fly through a room in total darkness without striking even such small objects as wire or lamp cords. This ingenious device fails around water, however. Experiments have shown that a small wire stretched just above the surface of a pond is not “seen” by the bat when it swoops down to get a drink.

Some bats rest in leafy treetops where they cling to small branches. Most species stay in hollow trees or caves during the daytime, and “bat caves” are common in many parts of the country, the most famous one is at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. While resting or sleeping the bat hangs head downward, always in a position to drop and fly at any moment. It is helpless on the ground, and must obtain sufficient elevation to allow for a few inches of drop before it can fly.

MOUNTAIN COYOTE Canis latrans lestes Merriam

The mountain coyote resembles a small collie dog in size, with a slender body, erect, pointed ears, and bushy tail. The upper parts of its body are light brownish gray, with numerous long, coarse, black hairs. The under parts are whitish, with the long hairs of the throat tipped with black. The tail is heavily tipped with black above and light beneath. The muzzle and crown of the head is a bright yellowish brown.

Specimens in park collection: RNP-98, Longmire Museum, Park Headquarters.

The geographical distribution of the coyote includes all of western North America. The mountain coyote is found from British Columbia southward through Washington, Oregon, and the highlands of the Great Basin, Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains to the plateau region of northern Arizona and down the Continental Divide in New Mexico to the Mexican border.

It is found locally throughout the park, at all elevations from the extreme lower portions to forest line, although usually more abundant in the vicinity of the old fire burns near the south and west boundaries.

The shrill, wild, evening song of the coyote rising from an open slope or brushy burn never fails to bring the listener to a rapt and keen attention. There is a spine-tingling, eerie quality in the call that seems symbolic of a wilderness land. It is descriptive also, in that it may sound like one animal or a pack. Usually it is heard at sunset or on moonlight nights in the fall or winter, as the pack gathers for the night’s foraging.

The park is not especially well suited to the coyote, as it lacks the open sagebrush flats and rolling hills that are such important parts of the animal’s natural environment. Coyotes are highly adaptable animals, however, and seem to fit themselves into almost any habitat. Having respect but little fear of man, they are often found even in the farming districts and near the smaller towns. Wherever there is sufficient food there seem to be coyotes, even though they are mercilessly hunted in many such localities.

Food consists mainly of small animals, such as ground squirrels, mice, chipmunks and marmots, although an occasional deer falls prey to this wily hunter. Fruits and berries are eaten in large quantities when available. During the late summer it has been observed catching grasshoppers in the open meadows, such insects are staple articles of diet. The wild antics of a coyote as it dives and twists trying to capture an agile grasshopper, sometimes apparently as a game rather than in a serious quest for food, afford an amusing picture. As a mouser the coyote is hard to equal, and it may frequently be seen in the early evening catching meadow mice. Destruction of deer is not overly extensive, with the old animals and an occasional unwary fawn being the principal victims. Once in a while a deer is found that refuses to become an easy prey and a merry chase often follows—this time with the coyote beating a hasty retreat with the enraged, wouldbe victim close behind. There are numerous instances of such chases on record, and authentic observations of coyotes being knocked down and trampled by deer.

Coyote pups, normally about five to seven in a litter, are usually born in April or May and have all the playful characteristics of a puppy dog. Just as soon as they are able to walk, they may be seen around the entrance to the den where they tug and pull at each other in mock ferocity. As they grow older their interest in the outside world keeps pace with their growth, and by fall they are out learning the serious business of obtaining food under the direction of the father or mother, or both. It is during this time that they range in family groups of five or six animals.