Bats of the United States and Canada

Homing Ability

44 bats of the united states and canada Homing Ability Homing ability, defined as the ability to return home after being displaced into unfamiliar territory, has been demonstrated to occur in diverse groups of animals, among them, birds, rodents, turtles, frogs, fish, and bats. The homing ability of pigeons is well known. During the 1950s and 1960s, numerous homing studies were conducted to determine if bats exhibited homing ability. Many species of bats were tested, and most had at least some degree of homing ability. During a 1960s study of bats’ homing ability, 1,472 Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis ) were captured in this Kentucky cave. They were transported 322 kilometers (200 miles) away, banded, and released in three different locations, one of which was outside their usual geographic range. At least 38% of the bats were able to return to the cave. Roger W. Barbour recto runninghead 45 In a homing study conducted in 1963, Indiana bats, Myotis sodalis, were removed from their hibernation cave in northeastern Kentucky during October, shortly after arriving from their summer habitat. Three groups of 472–500 bats were transported to sites 322 kilometers (200 miles) in three different directions from the cave, banded, and released. One hundred were banded as a control and released at the cave opening. Within only a few weeks, 67% of bats released at a site north of the cave were able to find their way back. Nearly 29% returned from a release site southeast of the cave, which was outside the species’ normal range and located across the highest mountains in the southern Appalachians. Almost 15% returned from a western release site. Of the control bats, 86% were recovered. Many others from all groups likely returned undetected, because there were numerous inaccessible cracks and crevices in the cave where bats could hide. At the time of this study, it was not known where maternity colonies of Indiana bats were located in summer. Researchers have determined that bats, like homing pigeons, may use the earth’s magnetic fields, celestial cues, or both as aids in homing . Few homing experiments have been conducted on bats in recent years due to concerns about the bats’ welfare. Most homing experiments were conducted during the 1950s and 1960s; at that time, bats often were collected in large numbers as specimens by using mist nets, shotguns, or both. homing ability 45 ...