Alberta Community Bat Program/Western Bat Program 🦇
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albertabats.bsky.social
Alberta Community Bat Program/Western Bat Program 🦇
@albertabats.bsky.social
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Alberta Community Bat Program (www.albertabats.ca). Promoting bat conservation, stewardship & education. A program of WCS Canada (Wildlife Conservation Society Canada). Also posting for the overall Western Bat Program (www.wcsbats.ca).
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albertabats.bsky.social
🦇 ICYMI
We’ve updated our Bat Ambassador Guide for teachers, interpreters, and anyone sharing bat knowledge. It’s free and packed with outreach tips and Alberta bat info.
Link in comments!
Cover page of the Alberta Bat Ambassador Guide - Ideas for Bat Conservation Outreach Last updated March 20, 2025 image of a Hoary Bat
November 10, 2025 at 6:51 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
🦇Signs of white-nose syndrome in bats was first noted in upper New York State in 2006! So, the fungus was probably here a couple of years before that. www.whitenosesyndrome.org has tracked the spread. Estimates are that we have lost 10million+ bats since 2006.
A map of North America with the tracking of both Pd (the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats) and white-nose syndrome disease confirmations. It's basically everywhere except British Columbia, Alaska and the northern Territories.
November 6, 2025 at 4:54 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
LOL! When your colleagues start looking the same in their field photos...an update with the addition of one of our key field/project people on our BC Team! Sorry Heather!
October 27, 2025 at 8:50 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
We talked to over 1,000 people this past Sat/Sun at @telus-spark.bsky.social !! Lots of good conversations about bats & lots of fun crafting! We had questions from bat boxes to white-nose syndrome to how bats avoid cancer! Photos by star volunteer Natasha Gidluck. #BatWeek #YYC
The "Bat Booth" in the main atrium of the #YYC Telus Spark Science Centre this past weekend. Lots of people crowding around both the information booth and the craft tables! The information included in the Bat Booth includes info on bats and their habitats, bat boxes, our community science project and bat anatomy (complete with 3D printed bat skulls and wings) and a cast of a bat fossil. Lots of good bat questions this weekend! The "Flappy Bat" table before the storm! Kids LOVE their flappy bats. Craft time is a good time to pepper kids with bat questions, answer queries and chat to parents about bats.
October 27, 2025 at 7:18 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
Our #BatTeam is spread over two provinces - but we work together to help protect, conserve and better understand bats. #HappyBatWeek from the @wcscanada.org Western Bat Program!
October 27, 2025 at 5:08 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
🦇And so it begins! #BatWeek2025! Celebrate bat week by sharing bat facts, donating to bat research & outreach, learn something new about bats - or go to batweek.org to get some new ideas! Happy Bat Week everybody!
October 24, 2025 at 5:44 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
Help us, help bats. #Donate #OctoberForBats www.justgiving.com/campaign/oct...
October 23, 2025 at 11:53 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
#OctoberForBats #BatWeek2025
Help support the bats this month! And gear up to celebrate them the last week of October - it's BAT WEEK! See www.albertabats.ca for details on how to participate in "October For Bats"! 🦇
Text reads Bats continue to face threats to survival. Help us help bats. Donate to support research and education. October for Bats. Logo WCS Canada Alberta Community Bat Program www.albertabats.ca Image of a Little Brown Myotis on a bark surface - eyes are closed and he looks like he is smiling. Image by Jason Headley.
October 22, 2025 at 8:05 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
Our Winter Bats project is underway! Detectors across Alberta are listening for winter bat activity - evidence of nearby hibernacula. Using a predictive map (created by our summer intern with our input), we’re narrowing down the search for wintering sites. Stay tuned for updates! 🦇❄️ #BatResearch
An extendable pole with a microphone attached pokes up above a tree in a badlands canyon where it will listen for bat activity this winter. A badlands canyon in Alberta - possibly a winter refuge for wintering bats. Our project will hopefully record bat activity this winter!
October 19, 2025 at 10:46 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
Oh you need to connect with some UK bat nerds! I suggest @batconservation.bsky.social Bat Conservation Trust. They have loads of volunteers with bat detectors and good knowledge of local bat fauna. You have some fantastic ones. Noctules that eat birds! Long-eared Bats (spectacular) & Horseshoe bats!
Lesser Horseshoe Bat - photo from Bat Conservation Trust https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/what-are-bats/uk-bats Noctule bat (he's a big boi) from iNaturalist by Dave Long-eared Bat - from Bat Conservation Trust https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/what-are-bats/uk-bats
October 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
#HappyThanksgiving2025 🍁🦇
Give thanks to bats! Alberta’s bats munch millions of insects, saving farmers & foresters on pest control—and helping our health by reducing pesticide use. Overlooked & underappreciated, these tiny insectivores quietly make life better for us all. #ThankABat
#HappyThanksgiving2025 We would like to take today to thank the bats for all the work they do around the planet. Our bats in Alberta are big insect-consumers - a non-paying job that benefits agriculture and forestry by reducing the costs of pest control. By reducing the amounts of pesticides used on the landscape - WE benefit by improved health outcomes. Over-looked and underappreciated - many people do not understand how important these little insectivores are in our daily lives. But boy oh boy are they awesome! (Starting upper left and moving clockwise - our nine Alberta bats include: Long-eared Myotis, Little Brown Myotis, Red Bat, Western Small-footed Myotis, Silver-haired Bat, Big Brown Bat, Hoary Bat and Long-legged Myotis - missing Northern Myotis in the collage! photos by Jason Headley, Cory Olson and Melissa Penney and JT Layne)
October 13, 2025 at 5:35 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
Dr Rodrigo Medellin "The Batman of Mexico" was in Edmonton this past week for the 53rd North American Bat Conference! We caught him signing one of our Alberta Bat activity guides for an attendee's son (who is apparently a fan!). Who could blame him! Rodrigo is an amazing person & biologist!
Dr Rodrigo Medellin "The Batman of Mexico" autographs a copy of our Alberta Bats activity guide for a delegates son who is an immense fan! One of our favourite moments of the conference in Edmonton this past week! (tbh - we are immense fans too!)
October 13, 2025 at 12:10 AM
albertabats.bsky.social
#OctoberForBats 🦇 Together, we can make a difference for bats! This month, let's rally behind bat research and outreach programs by fundraising and spreading awareness. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps us, help bats. Learn how you can participate and donate at www.albertabats.ca 💡
Text reads Happy Bat Month! Support Bats! DIY Fundraising! for more info visit www.albertabats.ca Collage of bat images (all by Jason Headley) including top left - Long-eared myotis, top right - hoary bat held in a black gloved hand, bottom left Little Brown Myotis on a cave wall, and bottom right close up of the face of a Little Brown Myotis.
October 5, 2025 at 11:27 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
58-60million years ago this thing lived in Columbia - with I would imagine some very present-day looking bat species! "The Bat Cave" at the Royal Ontario Museum is pretty amazing work. He's a pretty amazing sculptor!
Titanoboa is an extinct genus of very large snakes that lived in what is now La Guajira in northeastern Colombia. They could grow up to 12.8 m (42 ft) long and reach a weight of 1,135 kg (2,500 lb). Fossils of Titanoboa have been found in the Cerrejón Formation, and date to around 58 to 60 million years ago. The giant snake lived during the Middle to Late Paleocene epoch, a 10-million-year period immediately following the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. Titanoboa inhabited the first recorded tropical forest in South America. It shared its ecosystem with large Crocodylomorpha and large turtles. The paleogeography of the Late Paleocene was a sheltered paralic (coastal) swamp area, sheltered by the emerging later Guajira hills in the west and the slowly rising present-day Serranía del Perijá in the east, with an open connection to the proto-Caribbean in the north. The warmer climate of the Earth during the time of T. cerrejonensis allowed cold-blooded snakes to attain much larger sizes than modern snakes. Today, larger ectothermic animals are found in the tropics, where it is hottest, and smaller ones are found farther from the equator. Photography by: Unknown, As a part of their documentary, the Smithsonian Channel asked sculptor Kevin Hockley to create a full-size replica of Titanoboa. (Robert Clark/Institute) .
October 3, 2025 at 3:53 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
🦇The fungus behind white-nose syndrome continues to spread across Alberta. Our latest detection, near Fort McKay, marks the northernmost detection yet. Thank you to our partners at the Wood Buffalo Wildlife Research Institute for collecting this sample. See maps at www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/white_nose_s...
A map of the spread of Pd (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) that causes white-nose syndrome in bats, across Canada from the CWHC https://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/white_nose_syndrome_reports_and_maps.php
October 2, 2025 at 3:18 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
Last year we raised $4K with our October fundraiser! It was fun to see our supporter's different campaigns! One raised $$ using her streaming channel! Funds support both our research & outreach programs - and we super appreciate the support! #BatsNeedFriends
Text in a circle shape in the middle of four photos. Text reads Logo WCS Canada Alberta Community Bat Program, It's Back! October is Bat Month! see www.albertabats.ca to join our DIY fundraiser! Photos clockwise starting upper left - Little Brown Myotis (by Jason Headley), Fringed Myotis covering his eyes (Jason Headley) Townsend's Big-eared Bat (Jordi Segers) and a photo of the Alberta bat team netting bats outside of Edmonton under a green aurora borealis (Cory Olson)
October 2, 2025 at 2:41 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
RIP Jane Goodall. A remarkable life. An inspiration to many, especially women who embarked on their own journeys in field biology and wildlife conservation upon reading about her life and her work. Indeed, we all have our part in looking after our planet. Do some good today and make a difference.
A picture of Dr Jane Goodall with a quote: "You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." - Jane Goodall
October 1, 2025 at 11:29 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
Feeling this one again! 😀🦇
We need to do a tally of our outreach events & numbers of people reached for 2025! It has been busy!
A meme post with two pie charts. chart one - Nobody will remember - your salary, how busy you were, how many hours you worked, how many Gucci bags you owned. People will remember - how much you knew about bats, the time you spent learning about bats, if you knew facts about bats that made them smile, if they learned to love bats because of you.
September 22, 2025 at 3:18 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
🌳🦇 New infographic! We’re creating bat roosting habitat in trees. Many species won’t use bat houses, but these alternate structures are working! A great option for forests lacking natural roost sites. #Bats #Habitat #Conservation
Page two of our brochure on creating artificial bat roosts in trees. Page one of our brochure on creating artificial bat roosts in trees.
September 21, 2025 at 3:40 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
#BREAKINGNEWS 🦇🌍 The world now has 1,500 recognized bat species! 🎉 The global list at www.batnames.org just hit this milestone. New bats are found through fieldwork in remote places & genetic discoveries. Amazing biodiversity news! #Bats #Biodiversity #BatsNeedFriends
A collage of bat photos of species from around the world. Photos are contributions from photographers who have kindly allowed us to use their work for education and conservation. Text reads "Celebrate Bats!" and 1500.
September 18, 2025 at 4:35 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
Happy #Baturday! 🦇 The Long-eared Myotis (Myotis evotis) hunts moths along dark forest edges with “whispering” echolocation (stealth mode)! We’re monitoring them for white-nose syndrome & our diet study found that it eats crickets! Will it eat grasshoppers? #StayTuned #MoreDietResearch #AlbertaBats
A photo of a slightly grumpy looking Long-eared Myotis (Myotis evotis) - a blonde bat with long, dark ears, dark face and wings. Image is a close up of the face. Bat is being held in a blue-gloved hand. Background is black. Text reads Happy Baturday albertabats.ca with logo WCS Canada Alberta Community Bat Program. Photo by Jason Headley.
September 13, 2025 at 5:11 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
Bats are still migrating FROM their summer habitat TO their winter hibernation sites! Sometimes they are flying hundreds or even a couple thousand kilometres! Patio umbrellas (aka "batio" umbrellas are a common stopover site! #NoPanic #JustDroppingIn #HappyTrails
September 9, 2025 at 11:57 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
#HappyBaturday! 🦇 Silver-haired Bats are “migratory-hibernators.” They leave Alberta with other migratory bats but are found hibernating elsewhere—exact destinations unknown! Sadly, they’re among the species most often killed at wind energy sites.
Photo of a Silver-haired bat in full flight against a black background. Text reads Happy Baturday! www.albertabats.ca Logo WCS Canada Alberta Community Bat Program. Photo by Brock/Sherri Fenton.
September 6, 2025 at 11:39 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
Today’s “Find that Bat”! 🦇 Migratory bats like Hoary, Silver-haired & Red Bats have frosted fur tips—earning them the nickname “powdered sugar donuts.” Perfect for a 90s boy-band look and camouflage against tree bark. Can you spot Batsby?
Batsby the Hoary Bat demonstrates how to properly blend in with tree bark. Photo by Cory Olson Batsby the Hoary Bat demonstrates how to properly blend in with tree bark. Photo by Cory Olson Batsby the Hoary Bat demonstrates how to properly blend in with tree bark. Photo by Cory Olson
September 3, 2025 at 9:52 PM
albertabats.bsky.social
#HappyBaturday! 🦇 Hoary bats are on the move—migrating south in big flocks to unknown wintering grounds. Sadly, many are killed by wind turbines. We need stronger protections! #BatsNeedFriends
Image of a Hoary Bat peering out of the photo looking curious. The bat has a yellow ruff of fur framing a brown and blonde face with brown eyes. Ears are short and round and rimmed with brown (insides are light coloured). The fur is a dark cinnamon colour with white frosted tips (giving the bat its name after "hoar" frost). Text reads Hello! Happy Baturday Alberta Community Bat Program www.albertabats.ca Logo WCS Canada Alberta Community Bat Program
August 30, 2025 at 5:54 PM