Night hike Friday offers opportunity to view bats at Sodalis Nature Preserve

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Indiana bats are starting to settle into their hibernacula, the caves at Sodalis Nature Preserve where they spend the winter.

The “Bats are Back” night hike through Sodalis Nature Preserve will begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, sponsored by Hannibal Parks and Recreation. Interpreter guide Gale Rublee, a nationally certified interpreter guide with more than 25 years of experience in outdoor education, will lead the hikes.

Rublee said chances are good that participants will see bats flying overhead at sunset. Female bats often enter hibernation shortly after arriving at the hibernacula, but males remain active until late autumn to breed with females arriving late.

Most Indiana bats hibernate from October through April. Occasionally, Indiana bats are found hibernating singly, but almost all are found hibernating in dense clusters.

The latest bat census at Sodalis Nature Preserve confirms its place as the country’s most important hibernation spot for Indiana bats, with an estimated 222,129, an 8.7 percent increase from the last survey two years ago.

The full night hike program lasts about two hours. It follows a two-mile paved loop with a steep incline. Participants are welcome to stay with the group or return to the parking lot on their own.

There is a limit to the number of participants. Reservations must be made online at www.hannibalparks.org.