Gray Bat

Weight: 8 - 11 grams
Wingspan: 27 - 30 centimeters
Distribution: Cave regions of Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama
Food Habits: Flying insects
Status of Population: Endangered. About 95% of these bats hibernate in only 8 caves making them extremely vulnerable to destruction.

The endangered gray bat was once extremely abundant in the southeastern United States, with larger concentrations in Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee. Undisturbed colonies may contain tens, or even hundreds of thousands of individuals. These bats play an important role in the checks and balances of nature as primary controllers of night-flying insects, including mosquitoes. A single colony may consume tons of insects nightly. Only a few available caves produce the right underground climate for hibernating gray bats. Just eight caves harbor 95% of the hibernating population of gray bats.