Meet Arizona’s 29th bat species, the Mexican long-nosed bat. Its presence in Arizona highlights the successful collaboration between conservation organizations and citizen scientists.
The Arizona Department of Game and Fish made the announcement Friday, which brings the total number of bat species in Arizona to 29, the second highest in the country, only behind Texas.
The bat was first spotted foraging in southeastern Arizona last fall. It’s one of three nectar bats in the state. The bat was further identified through collaboration with citizen scientists in the area and the Species from Feces lab at Northern Arizona University.
Angela McIntire, a bat specialist with the Department of Game and Fish, says the collaboration between scientists and citizens gave a helping hand to finding answers.
“It’s just great that people are interested in these kinds of things and it really helps scientists because it just gives us more people helping to solve different questions,” McIntire said.
The species is now Arizona’s only bat listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. They migrate annually from south-central Mexico to the southwestern United States.
McIntire says it is still unknown why the endangered species is now in Arizona.
“Whether it's a good thing like, ‘Wow, they’re expanding their range,’ or whether it's a bad thing like, ‘Wow, they have to fly so far to find food,’ you know that’s a harder thing to say,” McIntire said.
McIntire said residents in the Tucson area may participate in the study by reporting if nectar bats are coming to their bird feeders to Arizona Game and Fish.
