Endangered Bat Makes Longest Known Migration From Pennsylvania To Kentucky

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

HARRISBURG (KDKA) - The Pennsylvania Game Commission recorded the longest known migration of the endangered Indiana bat in a single season.

The commission said the bat weighs as much as 10 paper clips or just two pieces of printer paper but flew 418 miles from her summer roost in Pennsylvania to her winter cave in Carter County, Kentucky.

In September, the Game Commission put bands and tiny 21-day radio transmitters on Indiana bats from the last known colony of breeding females in the state. The radio transmitters don't hurt the bats, and it allows them to track migration.

Four months later, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources discovered the longest migration when it performed winter surveys of hibernating bats.

The Game Commission said this study will help them discover new hibernation caves and mines and ultimately help conserve the federally endangered bat.