Bats

Bats are nocturnal mammals that emit short clicking sounds (ultrasounds inaudible to the human ear) which bounce off objects like an echo, guiding them to avoid predators or catch prey during flight. This phenomenon is called echolocation. Today, the province’s hibernating bat species face important threats such as pesticide use in agriculture and the rapid spread of the White-Nose Syndrome.

Conservation efforts

In 2015 and 2016, machines capable of recording ultrasounds emitted by bats were installed at 34 observation sites in the park. Monitoring confirms the presence of bats in the area, as well as their levels of activity within park boundaries. Following a recent analysis of sound recordings, we can confirm that all seven bat species present in NB are also present in the park, including three of our protected species affected by whitenose syndrome: The Little Brown Myotis, the Northern Long-eared Myotis and the Tri-colored bat. These are encouraging results.

Fun fact

Bats are the main natural predators of flying insects and they can devour more than 50% of their total body weight in moths, beetles and mosquitoes in one night!