Bats

Bats: According to NJ Fish and Wildlife

 Nine species of bats are considered regular residents of New Jersey. These include the little brown bat, big brown bat, northern long-eared bat, small-footed myotis, Eastern pipistrel, Indiana bat (state and federally endangered), hoary bat, red bat and silver-haired bat. The hoary, red and silver-haired bats are part-time residents that are found here from spring through fall when they migrate to southern states for the winter. The other six species remain here throughout the entire year and require special habitats for winter hibernation. Natural caves once provided hibernating habitat for bats, but today most caves are subject to disturbance by people and thus are not suitable for use by bats. Abandoned mines and tunnels have replaced natural caves as the primary winter habitat for bats in many parts of the country because they are often unsafe to enter or inaccessible to people.

New Jersey's largest known bat hibernaculum is the Hibernia Mine in Rockaway Township, Morris County. The mine was abandoned in the early 1900s and the first record of bats using the mine is from the 1930s. In the decades that followed, the mine continued to provide winter habitat for bats but frequent and constant human disturbance limited the mine's potential. Over the years a number of unsuccessful attempts were made by landowners to seal the mine to keep people out. However, sealing the mine would have also made it unavailable to the bats.

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Last Modified: May 27, 2008