ASHEVILLE – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission drafted a conservation plan for a federally and state-listed endangered subspecies of bat found in Western North Carolina and is asking for the public’s input.
Found in caves on Grandfather Mountain and Beech Mountain in Avery and Watauga counties, the Virginia big-eared bat was federally listed as endangered in 1979 because of habitat loss, vandalism of caves and increased human visitation, according to the wildlife commission.
This subspecies of the Townsend’s big-eared bat, which tout 1-inch-long and ribbed ears, also take winter sanctuary in a small cave near the Blue Ridge Parkway.
These rare bats are “extremely sensitive” to human disturbance and face “extinction because of habitat destruction and disturbances at cave roost sites in Avery, Watauga, Yancey counties in North Carolina,” the NWRC said.
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The commission’s conservation plan seeks to encourage population growth of Virginia big-eared bats by protecting their maternity and hibernation sites, according to a news release. The plan includes monitoring and research of the subspecies and maintaining its caves.