Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Columnist Susan Snyder: Curator goes to bat for mammal

Enjoying that margarita?

Thank a bat.

One variety of Central American bat pollinates the agave, the plant from which we make tequila, said George Baumgardner, natural history curator for the Nevada State Museum in Carson City.

Baumgardner knows his bats. And he will be in Las Vegas on May 24 to give a 6:30 p.m. lecture about them at the Nevada State Museum at Lorenzi Park. Afterward he will lead participants on a walk through the park in search of the nocturnal creatures.

The naturalist's visit and program are to promote the Las Vegas museum's new exhibit, "Bats! Champions of the Night Sky," which will be on display until December. But, Baumgardner admits, his bat talk is a public favorite.

"There's this mystique about bats," he said in a telephone interview last week. "There's a lot of myth. A lot of people think they're cool or scary. But there's also been a trend in the past few years where people are realizing bats can be very beneficial."

While bats in Central America are advancing the enjoyment of margaritas for all, Southern Nevada's bats are curbing insect infestations. Baumgardner said 22 of Nevada's 23 bat species eat bugs.

Boatloads of bugs.

"The little brown bat will eat 600 mosquitos in an hour," he said.

Now, I know what you're thinking.

Who counted 'em?

Call it an educated guess. Bats act and sound a certain way when they eat. So, over the years, experts have spent many hours sitting in the dark watching and listening, counting the number of times a bat dives and devours.

Hey, there's a job for everyone in this world.

"There's a cave in Texas with about 20 million bats, and they can eat 250 tons of insects in a night," Baumgardner said.

(There's an endearing little morsel of info.)

Some of the common misconceptions about bats include suppositions that they are blind or will tangle in your hair. Baumgardner has no idea where the phrase "blind as a bat" comes from, though it could be from the seemingly erratic flying motion.

And he recalled one bat-seeking trip where "literally thousands of bats" were flying around him. But none became entangled "with the exception of one who got caught between my glasses and my face."

(Not exactly quelling the willies, here.)

Most bats are teeny. Nevada's smallest is the western pipistrelle, which weighs about as much as a nickel. The largest bat we're likely to see is the pallid bat, which is a light tan and weighs about the same as a quarter, he said. It also lands on the ground and eats scorpions.

(Scorpions? Again, not helping.)

As people stroll the grounds of Lorenzi Park looking for bats at dusk with Baumgardner, he will discuss where bats can be found in urban areas. During the day they can be spotted snoozing in trees or under bridges or the eaves of houses.

For more information about Baumgardner's talk or the bat exhibit, call 486-5205. Or visit the Nevada State Museum in Lorenzi Park, on Washington Avenue just east of Valley View Boulevard.

archive