Official Site of The State of New Jersey
View videos to learn about New Jersey’s wildlife and their conservation and management in the Garden State.
Featured Video
Bat Swarm Survey
October 25, 2024
It’s BatWeek! This fall, NJDEP Fish & Wildlife and partners surveyed bats outside a former iron mine to catch, assess and band bats arriving at their winter hibernation site. Surveys were done on several nights from late August to early October as bats trickled in from across the landscape. The team used special mist nets and harp traps to gently capture bats flying around a small area of woods, fattening up on bugs and preparing to go underground for the next 5-6 months.
In the 15 years since white-nose syndrome first hit NJ, this survey has been repeated every few years to monitor several endangered bat species that winter here. We’re especially interested in knowing how Indiana bats are faring, since they’re one of our rarest bats and they hibernate mainly at this one location in NJ.
A snapshot of this year’s results…
