Information related to bat house construction included ideal sites and times of the year to build. Diagrams and a description outlining steps of the construction process were offered to assure regular occupancy by the otherwise picky dwellers.
Information related to these animals included differences among the three categories, features of the Virginia Big Eared Bat and Northern Pine Snake, and ways to help such species survive.
Forty species of bats inhabit the nation. Of these, fifteen species, including the rare eastern big-eared bat, make their homes in the state, and approximately one-third of them are endangered or at risk.
Researcher Mary Kay Clark is working to establish the extent to which old-growth forests and abandoned buildings serve as habitats for the eastern big-eared bat, and to learn if populations are declining.
A communal roost of the silver-haired bat was discovered in Granville County in 1993. This is the first confirmed report of communal winter roosting for this species.
Sixteen species of bats have been recorded in the state. Several are relatively rare and three--Townsend's big-eared bat, the Indiana bat, and the gray bat--are endangered.
Although people tend to be scared or believe false things about bats, they avoid humans if possible, are beneficial in their feeding habits, and is a harmless mammal.