The Bats of The Orient Land Trust

Each night at the same time Colorado's largest bat colony leave their roost inside a cave in the Orient Land Trust located on the west side of the San Luis Valley. The cave was created after the roof of a "room" which was excavated for Iron collapsed. 1/4 Million Mexican Free-tailed Bats live inside this cave and each night they pour out in column of quickly flapping wings into the night to feed on insects. It is the largest concentration of mammals in Colorado. The bats are migratory and it remains a mystery how they communicate their routes and ever changing roost locations to eachother. Another interesting fact is this colony of bats is almost compelely bachelor. 98% of the bats in this colony are males, 2% extremely busy females. Although many advances have been made in technology and tracking, science still knows very little about bats and their behavior due to their size and nocturnal nature.