Interpretive Program Goes To The Bats
Summer Interpreter Becky Denoncour with a bat.
Hoosier employees teach the public about bats.
After being on the Hoosier National Forest for four years, I am embarrassed to say that I have never attended an interpretative program offered by our seasonal interpreter. On August 9, 2008, Interpreter Becky Denoncour invited me to attend one of her sessions. Becky was the seasonal interpreter at the historical Rickenbaugh House on the Tell City Ranger District and I had heard great things about her programs. So, I packed up my daughter and we headed down to the lake to hear about bats.
The only thing I knew about bats was what I had learned from my mother when I was growing up. The first and most important thing my mother told me was that if you didn't cover up your head at night, you were sure to get a bat stuck in your hair and it would never, ever come out. The second thing she told me was that bats have fangs and if they bite you on the neck then you are going to get rabies and have to receive a lot of very painful shots.
Of course, those rumors where completely false and Becky did an outstanding job of dispelling those old "wives tales." Becky was assisted by Wildlife Biologist, Clark McCreedy, who actually caught a bat and let us all observe it up close. Becky and Clark worked as a team to both educate and entertain us. The comments I heard from the group were all positive and everyone appeared to be impressed with both the program and the employee's knowledge of bats.
During the program Clark put out a sonar device called ANAbat, allowing the participants to hear what bats sound like when they are communicating. He also lead the group on a "bat" hike to several pit toilets so we could see all the wonderful bat guano and to observe how the bats were able to squeeze themselves into tiny crevices to roost.
I left the program in total awe and have a new respect for bats and their ability to maneuver into extremely small crevices. Both Becky and Clark did an awesome job and I know I can speak for everyone when I say that it was an extremely enjoyable experience.