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Show 330 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE as they broke away from the solid mass in which they had been huddled together. One of the Fringed Bats, Myotis thy-sanodcs, was found in a rain barrel close to the open ladder shaft of Carlsbad Cavern. It is largely a cave-dwelling species, and this one may have come out of the shaft and, in attempting to drink from the water in the barrel, have fallen in and drowned ( see page 324). The Cave Bat, Myotis vclifcr, and the Little California Bat, Myotis californicus, have a general distribution over this region, but the only specimens taken at the cave were skulls picked up in the big dry room at the farthest end and lowest level. These remains and the traces of guano in this chamber are so old as to suggest a former entrance now closed or hidden. The tiny Canyon Bat, Pipistrcllus hes-pcnts, easily recognized by its small size, whitish fur, and very black wings and ears, was often seen early in the warm evenings, flitting about in the big western doorway of Carlsbad Cavern, where it probablv lived in the cracks and small openings of the cliff, rather than down in the dark chambers. It was also the most abundant bat along the canyon walls and at Oak Spring, just over the ridge, where hundreds came to drink every evening. Its very small size would suggest quite a different set of food insects from those eaten by the larger bats. A jawbone of this little bat picked up with other bones from owl pellets under the nests of Great Horned Owls in the Bighorn Cave, in Slaughter Canyon, does not necessarily mean that thev live or winter there, although this is probable. The Great Hoary Bats, Nyctcris cine-rca, largest of our northern bats and conspicuous by their short ears and silverv-gray fur, are not common in New Mexico and occur mainly as migrants from their northern or mountain homes to southern winter grounds. They have been found as far south as Brownsville, Texas, and southern California, but where or how they spend the winter has never been known. In summer this species is generally found during the day hanging head downward in some dense foliage of trees or bushes and, so far as we know, is not given to entering caves or buildings. Wing bones of several individuals were found on the floor of the deepest, farthest room of the cave, which would suggest this as a wintering place for the species. Jim White, for many years in charge of the guano mining operations of the Carlsbad Cavern, told me of finding a very large gray bat hanging in the leaves of a walnut bush in the canyon below the cave and making a fierce little noise like a miniature cat fight. This could have been no other than the Hoary Bat. A MARVELOUS EXHIBITION OF POWER OF FLIGHT The Red Bat, Nycteris borealis, has never before been recorded from New Mexico, but the southern part of the State is well within its range. Two old skulls found among other bat remains on the floor of the farthest, deepest room of the cave would suggest that this chamber farthest away from the colony of Guano Bats was used as a wintering ground by the Red Bat as well as by several other species. While mainly tree bats, hanging during the day in the leaves of trees or bushes, they are known also to enter caves and may seek such quarters for winter hibernation. Unlike most bats, the females have four mammae, and two to four young have been found clinging to their mother, their combined weight considerably exceeding hers (see pages 326-327). These mothers were found hanging in trees and were not actually observed in flight with their burdens of young; but the inference is that they must carry the young about with them in pursuit of their regular prey, flying insects captured in the air. Where is there another example of such power of flight by bird or beast? Early reports that the bats were the only animal life in the Carlsbad Cavern have been disproved by the discovery of several other mammals and two cave crickets occupying its whole extent, while a number of insects, spiders, and a myria-pod occupy the first large rooms, where there is still a trace of reflected light. Many other mammals and some birds live in the gloomy halls of the entrance shafts, either permanently or temporarily, and still more in the immediate vicinity outside. |