GRACE. THANK YOU. STAY WARM OUT THERE. AND FOR ALMOST THREE DECADES. WE’RE GOING TO LOVE THIS STORY. SYDNEY BATS HAVE BEEN WELCOMED HOME BY A TRAVELERS REST BUSINESS. I’M SO EXCITED TO SEE THIS EACH YEAR AS HALLOWEEN APPROACHES, AN ANNUAL EVENT GETS THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY INVOLVED. LEAH PHILLIPS TAKES US TO TRAVELERS REST. WHEN YOU THINK OF HALLOWEEN, BATS MAY JUST COME TO MIND, BUT HERE AT SUNRIDGE ADVENTURES IN TRAVELERS REST, THOSE FLYING MAMMALS ARE PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE. THAT’S ARE THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD MAMMAL. SO IT’S MORE ABOUT REALLY EDUCATING THE PUBLIC. THAT’S THE MISSION. EVERY YEAR, THE ANNUAL BAT COUNT IS HELD AT SUNRIDGE ADVENTURES, GENERALLY AT THE BAT. CAN WE JUST HAVE EVERYBODY GRABS A BOX? SOMETIMES 2 OR 3 PEOPLE ON BOX AND ONE BOX, AND THE KIDS LOVED IT. AND THIS YEAR MARKED AN ENTIRE DECADE OF COUNTS. BUT THESE BATS HAVE ACTUALLY CALLED THE LOCAL BUSINESS HOME SINCE 1997. THEY JUST KIND OF KEPT GROWING. AND I LEARNED MORE ABOUT BUILDING BETTER HOUSES AND LEARNING MORE ABOUT BATS AND IT’S JUST SUPER AMAZING HOW THEY CAN DO EVERYTHING. AND THE HOUSES WERE FIRST CONSTRUCTED BY STUDENTS IN A SHOP CLASS FROM TRAVELERS REST HIGH SCHOOL. BATS CAN PASS FROM CHAMBER TO CHAMBER. THE HOUSES ARE COMPACT WOODEN BOXES THAT PROVIDE SMALL CRAWL SPACES FOR THE MAMMALS AND GIVE THEM RELIABLE SHELTER. BATS SAVE FARMERS 115 MILLION IN PESTICIDE CONTROL, SO THEY’RE REALLY IMPORTANT, GILLESPIE SAYS. A MAJORITY OF THEIR BATS ARE OF THE BIG, BROWN AND MEXICAN FREETAIL SPECIES. MEXICAN FREE TAIL ARE THE THE FASTEST MAMMAL ON THE PLANET. FACTS LIKE THAT ARE WHY THE TEAM AT SUNRIDGE IS SO PASSIONATE ABOUT EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY ON THE SMALL YET MIGHTY CREATURES. I DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING. SOME PEOPLE CALL ME THE BATMAN, BUT I’M NOT REALLY BATMAN. I JUST I LEARNED A LOT. AND WHILE THEY WAIT FOR THIS YEAR’S OFFICIAL TOTAL, THEY’RE SAYING ANYWHERE BETWEEN 5 TO 600 BATS ARE CALLING THOSE NINE BAT HOUSES HOME. REPORT
Hundreds of bats call local business home after construction of ‘bat houses’
“Bats are the most misunderstood animals, so it’s really about educating the public,” said bat house manager Jon Gillespie.
Sunrift Adventures, an outdoor shop located in Traveler’s Rest, completed its annual “bat count” today, totaling 625 bats living throughout their nine bat houses. Sunrift held its annual “bat count” event on Thursday, which invited the Traveler’s Rest community to get involved in counting the number of bats living on the store’s property. The process of counting the bats is done by recording the bats’ activity and manually counting them as they exit the houses, and as temperatures begin to drop, the bats become increasingly dormant. “Bats are the most misunderstood animals, so it’s really about educating the public,” Jon Gillespie, Sunrift’s bat house manager, said. “Bats save farmers 115 million in pesticide control, so they’re really important.”The bat houses started back in 1997, after shop-class students at Traveler’s Rest High School built the four original bat houses. Now, there are nine houses mounted to the exterior of the shop’s storage warehouse. “I don’t know everything, some people call me the batman, but I’m not really Batman, I’ve just learned a lot,” Gillespie said.
Sunrift Adventures, an outdoor shop located in Traveler’s Rest, completed its annual “bat count” today, totaling 625 bats living throughout their nine bat houses.
Sunrift held its annual “bat count” event on Thursday, which invited the Traveler’s Rest community to get involved in counting the number of bats living on the store’s property.
The process of counting the bats is done by recording the bats’ activity and manually counting them as they exit the houses, and as temperatures begin to drop, the bats become increasingly dormant.
“Bats are the most misunderstood animals, so it’s really about educating the public,” Jon Gillespie, Sunrift’s bat house manager, said. “Bats save farmers 115 million in pesticide control, so they’re really important.”
The bat houses started back in 1997, after shop-class students at Traveler’s Rest High School built the four original bat houses. Now, there are nine houses mounted to the exterior of the shop’s storage warehouse.
“I don’t know everything, some people call me the batman, but I’m not really Batman, I’ve just learned a lot,” Gillespie said.