myotis daubentonii

i went bat hunting last night.

ok, not really, i helped with a bat survey for a university / regional conservation / consultation / information -- short of the long, scientists want to know more about these bats cuz that's what scientists do, for knowledge's sake and for consultation's sake...

so i got my rabies vaccination, got my hat, and got on the train... we set up a mist net under a bridge, set up echolocation detectors along the canal, got out the walkie-talkies and waited... talked about bats... computers... travel... north dakota cold...

we caught two, missed five, cuz the net doens't cover the whole passageway under the little stone bridge ("gotta give the little buggers a chance" - head researcher dude) but tagged both of them, put a radio tracker on one, and let them go... if you want to know the reasons for details, ask, cuz it gets science-y and i need to catch a train BUT it was cool...

i got to hold a bat and let her go...

i'm just amazed at the wild and beautiful world that we live in and how little we know about it all, despite how much we think we know...

ain't she cute? (and yes this is just an image from the web, not the bat we caught last night)

amazing...