Night hike planned for Friday through Sodalis Nature Preserve

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Hannibal Parks and Recreation will offer a night hike at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 31 through Sodalis Nature Preserve as bats that hibernate all winter are starting to wake up. The program will last approximately two hours and follow a two-mile paved trail.

Volunteer representatives Meagan Garey and Kristy Trevathan from the Mississippi Hills Master Naturalists will lead the hike, which will give participants the chance to appreciate nature as the season changes. Frogs such as spring peepers and chorus frogs are serenading their mates and are especially noisy in Sodalis Nature Preserve at this time of year.

The hike is free to the public. Reservations may be made online at www.hannibalparks.recdesk.com/Community/Program.

Sodalis Nature Preserve was named for the myotis sodalis (Indiana bat) species discovered in the park. Bat scientists estimate about 215,000 of the bats hibernate in the abandoned limestone mines.