Wildlife fans looking for somewhere a little bit different to go on holiday this year can now visit a rare bat colony for the first time.
Bracken Cave near New Braunfels and San Antonio in Texas is home to the largest bat colony in the world. There are literally millions of Mexican free-tailed bats there. While you can visit the caves by day – a visit at dusk is, for obvious reasons, recommended.
Why? Because that’s when you’ll get to see the emergence from the ‘bat cave’ of the entire colony: the plume of bats is reportedly so dense that it can even show up on nearby airport radars.
Watch this video below and see just how many bats there are!
2012 is the first time that the Bracken Cave tour will be open to the public, as part of the International Year of the Bat.
“Negative myths and misinformation have generated needless fears that have threatened bats and their habitats for centuries,” says Nina Fascione, Executive Director of BCI, the Austin-based group which owns and manages Bracken Cave site.
“Our goal in opening tours to the public is to teach more people the truth about bats and the critical need for conservation efforts.”
San Antonio is the most visited city in Texas and has a wealth of great attractions to explore. If you are an animal lover be sure to check out San Antonio. The Zoo houses over 3,500 animals and 600 different species.
