{"id":38875,"date":"2026-03-27T16:54:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T20:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=38875"},"modified":"2026-04-02T14:51:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:51:09","slug":"2026-winter-bat-survey-in-progress-mydnr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/2026-winter-bat-survey-in-progress-mydnr\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Winter Bat Survey In Progress, MyDNR"},"content":{"rendered":"

MyDNR,<\/em><\/a> Indiana’s Outdoor Newsletter:<\/em> While temperatures were frigid, conditions were perfect for DNR mammalogists to conduct surveys for rare and endangered bats. About half of the bat species found in Indiana avoid the cold by seeking out climate-controlled caves where they can hibernate.<\/p>\n

\"Bats

Image credit: Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/p><\/div>\n

During this time, biologists count bats to get a snapshot of roughly how many of each species are present. Conducting surveys regularly provides a better understanding of population trends over time and conducting them at the same time every other year helps to minimize disturbance. The\u00a0surveys<\/a>\u00a0primarily target the\u00a0Indiana bat<\/a>, but also include counts for the gray bat, little brown bat, tricolored bat and big brown bat.<\/p>\n

Donations<\/a>\u00a0to the Indiana Nongame Wildlife Fund help the DNR purchase equipment needed for surveys. One critical tool is digital cameras which enable biologists to spend less time in caves disturbing the bats and more time in the office viewing photos to obtain a more accurate count.<\/p>\n

While the data is still being tallied for the 2026 winter bat count, the impression DNR mammalogists have from this winter\u2019s surveys is that multiple bat species continue to show signs of population growth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to help bats? You can give them the best chance to thrive by growing native plants, installing bat houses, protecting forested habitat and minimize disturbance to bats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To subscribe to the newsletter, visit MyDNR Email Newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Resources:
\n<\/strong>Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) Highlights: Bats<\/a>, Video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
\nBats in the Belfry<\/a>, Purdue Extension – FNR Got Nature? Blog
\nAsk An Expert: Bats on the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE)<\/a>, Video, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR Facebook
\nBats in Indiana<\/a>, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IN DNR)
\nBat Houses<\/a>, Bat Conservation International
\nCreating a Wildlife Habitat Management Plan for Landowners<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
\nThe Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE): Indiana Forestry and Wildlife<\/a>, The Education Store
\nSubscribe to\u00a0Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel<\/a>
\nUnexpected Plants and Animals of Indiana: Indiana Bats<\/a>, Purdue College of Agriculture News
\nSelecting a Nuisance Wildlife Control Professional<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension\u2019s resource center
\nFAQs<\/a> – How can I get rid of nuisance wildlife (bats, deer, racoons, etc.)?<\/p>\n

Division of Fish and Wildlife<\/a>
\nIndiana Department of Natural Resources (IN DNR)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MyDNR, Indiana’s Outdoor Newsletter: While temperatures were frigid, conditions were perfect for DNR mammalogists to conduct surveys for rare and endangered bats. About half of the bat species found in Indiana avoid the cold by seeking out climate-controlled caves where they can hibernate. During this time, biologists count bats to get a snapshot of roughly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,54],"tags":[1375,260,1336,619,582,219,72],"class_list":["post-38875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-howto","category-wildlife","tag-animal-tracking","tag-bats","tag-donation","tag-indiana-department-of-natural-resources","tag-mammals","tag-survey","tag-wildlife","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 04:24:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38875"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39354,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38875\/revisions\/39354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}