Hi everyone! I hope you all have had a good week. I enjoyed my first week of school, but I am looking forward to this long weekend.

I read an article about a very rare bat that lives in Cuba. The Greater Funnel-Eared Bat was believed to be extinct until a colony was found in 1992. Now it looks like the one cave that they call home is in danger.

Despite the fact that these bats used to live throughout Cuba and the surrounding islands, they are now listed as an EDGE (Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered) species. In order to evaluate how much trouble this bat population is in; scientists went to the cave to count them. They used nail polish to paint the bats’ nails so they could tell them apart to get an accurate count. What they found was very sad. Fewer than 750 bats were found.

The cave that the Greater Funnel-Eared Bat lives in is in danger of collapse because of thermal instability, and climate change is expected to make it worse. The cave must be protected if this species is going to survive. They do not survive in captivity or when they are removed from their warm and humid cave. Hopefully the new population data will help get the bat placed on the IUCN Red List as a Critically Endangered species.

If you’d like to read more about this population study, you can find information here. or here