Zoobat Collections (N. America)

wild boar said:
How many gray-headed flying foxes does the Lubee Bat Conservancy have (left)? Is this a phase out species for the facility? It struck me as odd that Lubee is phasing out some of their rare bat species because they pride themselves in having such a great collection (though I suppose it isn't that weird because there are so many facilities doing this right now) and it makes me to wonder which species will not be kept here in the long run.
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I think they have a few left, maybe 4 to 6. The USDA inspection should specify.

I don't know enough about what Lubee has had historically to answer this, but it's possible that some of their populations were never that large and were destined to dwindle out eventually. Also possible that some species haven't done that well and so the facility has chosen not to continue with them. Space and cost limitations could factor in as well. Hard to know if their curatorial decisions are odd without knowing the variables IMO.

There also doesn't appear to be any interest in the species among regional zoos; the only other recent holder was the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and they phased them out years ago; can't remember exactly why.
 
Note also that one zoo cannot single-handedly manage an entire population of a species and have it sustainable, unless they are holding hundreds of individuals (which, there are a small number of cases this is true). Even with a colonial species (such as bats), there need to be 3-4 dedicated facilities breeding the species for it to have a sustainable population that can be successful into the future. So really, for a specialty facility such as Lubee, if they want to be able to keep a species long-term and not be reliant on constant imports, they'd be focusing on managing and breeding those species that have at least three other facilities invested in them.
 
This might be a really dumb question, but is there no interest in raising the insectivorous bats in captivity? That feels like it could be a useful line of defense against the diseases devastating US bat populations. Is it a lack of interest? A lack of founders?
 
Persephone said:
This might be a really dumb question, but is there no interest in raising the insectivorous bats in captivity? That feels like it could be a useful line of defense against the diseases devastating US bat populations. Is it a lack of interest? A lack of founders?
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I can't speak to what zoos might be doing with insectivorous bats behind the scenes, but they are not good animals at least for public display. Most like to hide when not actively flying, and they are easily stressed animals when not given adequate privacy. A nearby zoo for me has a Mexican Free-tailed Bat in a nocturnal display, and the only time I've actually seen the bat is at feeding time. Zoos generally use small fruit bats like Seba's as stand-ins for native insectivores.

Here's a relevant statement from the Bat World Sanctuary on their position about keeping insectivore bats, as well as a care guide they've published for them:

https://batworld.org/wp-content/upl...n-Statement-on-Insectivorous-Bats-in-Zoos.pdf
https://batworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/BWS-Standards-for-Bats-in-Captivity.pdf
 
I've been to some nature centers that keep insectivorous microbats and they make terrible display animals. You'll never see them and I imagine keeping them is difficult.
 
Insectivores overall tend to be difficult for zoos to manage. Feeding insectivores is expensive, they're extremely messy which increases staff needs, and depending on the type of insects food may be difficult to source. Furthermore, when using live feeders, that's an additional containment concern as an exhibit needs to be able to contain not only a species but also it's feeders. While there are of course some insectivorous species that are common in zoos (e.g. giant anteaters, tamanduas, some species of armadillos, etc.), there are many more examples of insectivorous species that, either due to cost or logistics, have proven too difficult for most zoos to manage.
 
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turkeyfox said:
It looks like insectivorous bats are fed mealworms? Correct me if I’m wrong but don’t bats catch flying insects midair? Would they even view mealworms on the ground as a food source?
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You are correct that they catch flying insects midair
 
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