Journey North: Ask the Expert


Meet the Bat Expert

Meet your bat expert, Ginny Dalton. There appears to be a bat in her hair. A bat in her hair??!! Do bats really get into people's hair? What do you think? Are bats blind? Do all bats nest in caves? Do bats "nest?" How many baby bats in a litter? Do bats have litters? Which bats migrate and why? These questions and more can be addressed during your session with Ginny and the bats.

Ginny has a Ph. D. in Zoology and expertise in bats and cave biology. She has been studying foraging, roosting and migration of bats for the past 20 years. In addition, with the help of her husband Dave, she has videotaped bats within their day roost by using night vision equipment and infrared lighting to learn of their natural behavior. Dave has extensive knowledge of electronics and computers and provides the technical expertise necessary to conduct some of their research projects. Together they go by the name D2 (the 2 is a superscript) Chiropterology. What is Chiropterology?

Bats of particular interest they have studied over the years include Townsend's big-eared bat, the lesser long nosed bat and the California leaf-nosed bat. For our Journey North sessions, we will focus on the lesser long-nosed bats.



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