Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight. With extremely elongated fingers and a wing membrane stretched between, the bat’s wing anatomically resembles the human hand.

Over 1,200 bat species can be found worldwide, and bats make up over a fifth of all mammal species on earth. Unfortunately, bats in the United States face many threats, including climate change, habitat loss, infectious disease, and wind energy production.

Bat populations have declined by the millions due to the devastating impacts of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that infects species like the Indiana bat, northern long-eared bat, tricolored bat, and other bats that hibernate through winter in caves. Migratory bats, like the hoary bat, are not affected by white-nose syndrome but something about their migration patterns and their tree roosting lifestyle appear to put them at enhanced risk for collision with wind turbines.