Bats that inhabit dead or dying trees may interact with a wide variety of other animals that utilize this same habitat, including potential predators. Herein, we report two interactions between Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis) and woodpeckers (Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Melanerpes carolinus; and Northern Flickers, Colaptes auratus). We also report attempts by common raccoons (Procyon lotor) to prey upon both Indiana myotis and evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis). These represent the first reported interactions between either woodpeckers or raccoons and tree-roosting bats of either species. If predators such as raccoons are superabundant in small forest fragments, then increased predation from these animals could be an important source of mortality for bats roosting within these habitats.
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1 March 2003
DISTURBANCE OF ROOSTING BATS BY WOODPECKERS AND RACCOONS
Dale W. Sparks,
Michael T. Simmons,
Curtis L. Gummer,
Joseph E. Duchamp
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