Going Batty at Pipe Spring

What starts its day at night, uses sound to find its food, and spends at least half of its life upside down? If you said “a bat”, you’re right!

Bats don’t fly into your hair, unless you have bugs in your hair - they really like bugs. Some bats can eat over 1,000 mosquitoes in one hour! Bats are not mice with wings - they are actually more closely related to humans than mice. And while there are bats that feed on blood (they are found only in Central and South America), they don’t actually suck blood – they make a small cut on an animal and lap up the blood that flows out.

To learn more about these amazing animals, come to Pipe Spring National Monument on Wednesday June 25 from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. AZ, (8:30-10:30 p.m. UT) and Friday August 8 from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. AZ, (8:30-10:30 p.m. UT) . Local rangers and biologists from the National Park Service and Northern Arizona University will be trapping bats over the ponds at Pipe Spring. You will be able to see bats up close and personal, learn about the different species in the local area, and find out how and why biologists study them.
Please bring a lawn chair to sit on, a flashlight, bug spray, and water to drink. Come out early (7:00 p.m. AZ, 8:00 p.m. UT) and visit the Pipe Spring National Monument - Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians Visitor Center and Museum (we will be closed from 5:00-7:00 p.m., AZ).

Regular entrance fees will apply - $5.00 per person 16 and older (younger are free). Interagency Annual, Senior, and Access passes are accepted and sold at Pipe Spring. Pipe Spring National Monument is 15 miles west of Fredonia, Arizona on AZ highway 389. It is 45 miles east of Hurricane, Utah on UT highway 59 and AZ highway 389. For more information, please call Andrea Bornemeier at 928-643-7105, or visit our website at www.nps.gov/pisp.