Bats of Kansas

In memory of Curtis J. Schmidt (1977-2022)Invariably, our most feared neighbors on planet earth are the animals that we know the least about. Almost as frequently, when people are exposed to these animals, the fear turns quickly to fascination. Unfortunately, many of these animals are accessible only to the professional scientist. Though science has made great strides in understanding the basic biology and behaviors of many of our least-known animals, this information is generally kept locked away from the general public by the dry, technical language of science. In this publication, it is our hope to open your eyes to the world of perhaps the last great, misunderstood group of animals-the bats. Further, it is our hope, by dispensing (as much as possible) with technical language, to bring across the intense fascination that we share for these animals and to infect you with that same fascination. In order to accomplish our task we have prepared the book in five sections. Because our main goal is to open your eyes to the fascinating world of bats, we have designed the first section to answer the most often asked questions about bats. The second provides a key to the bats of Kansas so that you can identify any bat you discover. In the third section we introduce you to the sixteen species that are known to occur in Kansas. As is the case for human neighbors, there may be bats in Kansas that we haven't "met" yet. The fourth section describes these "species of possible occurrence" and tells you where to look for them. Unfortunately, we have only a limited amount of space, so the fifth section tells you how to find additional information.