Endangered Animals of Florida Series: Gray Bat LbNA #50320
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Sep 10, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Marianna |
| County: | Jackson |
| State: | Florida |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | Moo Poo  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Elu Chanter |
| Last found: | Aug 13, 2015 |
| Status: | FOFFFF |
| Last edited: | Nov 9, 2015 |
ENDANGERED ANIMALS OF FLORIDA SERIES: GRAY BAT Letterbox
Created by: Moo Poo
Placed by: Moo Poo, The Real Truth, and Where the Wind Blows
Difficulty: Easy
Stamp: Hand-carved
Fee: $5 per vehicle (for 2-8 people); $4 per single occupant vehicle; $2 pedestrians, bicyclists. Cave tours are available on Mon, Thurs-Sun for $8 per person (13+), $5 per child (3-12), and free for anyone under 2. The cave tour is great! If you have an extra hour to spare (the tour is only about 45 minutes max), I recommend taking it! The park also offers camping, canoeing, hiking, and more!
Note: Two other stamps (Oval Pigtoe and Gulf Moccasinshell) in my Endangered Animals of Florida Series are found in this park. Check them out!
Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens)
The gray bat averages about 3 inches long and has a wingspan of 10 to 12 inches. It weighs about 1/3 ounce (a little more than a quarter). Gray bats have a uniform brownish-gray fur most of the year, but during the summer the fur turns a light rusty brown. The ears and wing membranes are gray to black. Gray bats are active at night, foraging over water or along shorelines. They are insectivorous and eat a variety of flying aquatic and terrestrial insects. They may fly up to 12 miles from the roosting cave to the feeding area.
Gray bats use caves the entire year. Winter hibernation caves are typically vertical (pit) caves with cool, stable temperatures ranging from 42 to 52 degrees Fahrenheit. Summer caves are warmer (58 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit) with domed ceilings. The caves are usually found within two miles of rivers, streams, or lakes. Gray bats do not hibernate or roost in houses or man-made structures. Gray bats may require a corridor of forest vegetation between roosting caves and foraging areas. The forest cover provides cover from perdition during flight.
Gray bat populations declined for many of the same reasons that have affected other bat species. Human disturbance to summer and winter caves, commercialization of caves, and pesticide contamination have contributed to the historical decline of the gray bat. In addition, because the gray bat utilizes caves near major rivers, reservoir construction flooded some important caves.
Directions:
Florida Caverns State Park
3345 Caverns Rd, Marianna, FL 32446
From Interstate 10, take Exit 136 toward Marianna. Turn Left at FL-276/ Kynesville Rd and after 1.4 miles, turn Right at South St. You can basically follow the brown signs to Florida Caverns State Park from the I-10 exit. Go about 1.7 miles on South St and then turn Left at FL-73/ Jefferson St and travel on this road for about 3 miles. The park entrance is on your left.
Clues:
1) After going through the pay booth, follow the curving road, passing the intersection for the road that takes you to the Shelters and Campground. Take a Right at the sign pointing to the Cave Tours.
2) Park at the far end of the parking lot near the trailheads.
3) Go to Bluff Trail. Each large square of the trail is like a step. Count 9 of these steps.
4) At the 9th step, stop. Look to the right at a large tree. Go behind it, under debris right at its base and you will find a black duct-taped bag.
5) When finished stamping in, please be sure to seal all bags completely. Be sure to put the baggie for the logbook and the baggie for the stamp in a 2nd bag, and then place back into the duct-taped bag.
7) Please re-hide the bag better than how you found it. Grab more dead leaves and twigs if needed.
8) Please log your find in to either AtlasQuest.com or Letterboxing.org
9) If you have time, go and explore the store and consider going on a cave tour!
Created by: Moo Poo
Placed by: Moo Poo, The Real Truth, and Where the Wind Blows
Difficulty: Easy
Stamp: Hand-carved
Fee: $5 per vehicle (for 2-8 people); $4 per single occupant vehicle; $2 pedestrians, bicyclists. Cave tours are available on Mon, Thurs-Sun for $8 per person (13+), $5 per child (3-12), and free for anyone under 2. The cave tour is great! If you have an extra hour to spare (the tour is only about 45 minutes max), I recommend taking it! The park also offers camping, canoeing, hiking, and more!
Note: Two other stamps (Oval Pigtoe and Gulf Moccasinshell) in my Endangered Animals of Florida Series are found in this park. Check them out!
Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens)
The gray bat averages about 3 inches long and has a wingspan of 10 to 12 inches. It weighs about 1/3 ounce (a little more than a quarter). Gray bats have a uniform brownish-gray fur most of the year, but during the summer the fur turns a light rusty brown. The ears and wing membranes are gray to black. Gray bats are active at night, foraging over water or along shorelines. They are insectivorous and eat a variety of flying aquatic and terrestrial insects. They may fly up to 12 miles from the roosting cave to the feeding area.
Gray bats use caves the entire year. Winter hibernation caves are typically vertical (pit) caves with cool, stable temperatures ranging from 42 to 52 degrees Fahrenheit. Summer caves are warmer (58 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit) with domed ceilings. The caves are usually found within two miles of rivers, streams, or lakes. Gray bats do not hibernate or roost in houses or man-made structures. Gray bats may require a corridor of forest vegetation between roosting caves and foraging areas. The forest cover provides cover from perdition during flight.
Gray bat populations declined for many of the same reasons that have affected other bat species. Human disturbance to summer and winter caves, commercialization of caves, and pesticide contamination have contributed to the historical decline of the gray bat. In addition, because the gray bat utilizes caves near major rivers, reservoir construction flooded some important caves.
Directions:
Florida Caverns State Park
3345 Caverns Rd, Marianna, FL 32446
From Interstate 10, take Exit 136 toward Marianna. Turn Left at FL-276/ Kynesville Rd and after 1.4 miles, turn Right at South St. You can basically follow the brown signs to Florida Caverns State Park from the I-10 exit. Go about 1.7 miles on South St and then turn Left at FL-73/ Jefferson St and travel on this road for about 3 miles. The park entrance is on your left.
Clues:
1) After going through the pay booth, follow the curving road, passing the intersection for the road that takes you to the Shelters and Campground. Take a Right at the sign pointing to the Cave Tours.
2) Park at the far end of the parking lot near the trailheads.
3) Go to Bluff Trail. Each large square of the trail is like a step. Count 9 of these steps.
4) At the 9th step, stop. Look to the right at a large tree. Go behind it, under debris right at its base and you will find a black duct-taped bag.
5) When finished stamping in, please be sure to seal all bags completely. Be sure to put the baggie for the logbook and the baggie for the stamp in a 2nd bag, and then place back into the duct-taped bag.
7) Please re-hide the bag better than how you found it. Grab more dead leaves and twigs if needed.
8) Please log your find in to either AtlasQuest.com or Letterboxing.org
9) If you have time, go and explore the store and consider going on a cave tour!