Even though bats may not be the first animal to come to mind when we dream of our fine flying friends in Middle Tennessee, they’re arguably some of the most important in our town.
On this episode, we gaze skyward — at dusk — and pay tribute to the best mosquito-eaters around. Bat-loving guests join us to debunk a ton of misconceptions, teach us where bats live, what makes up their diet, what their greatest threats are, and how we can actually share our homes with them.
This episode was produced by Tasha A.F. Lemley. Special thanks to John Michael Cassidy, Alan Hatcher, and John French.
Guests:
- Cory Holliday, Cave and Karst Program Manager at The Nature Conservancy
- Dustin Thames, biologist and Biodiversity coordinator for Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
- Bereket Graves, wildlife enthusiast, student and former intern for TWRA
- Sara Samoray, Chair, Tennessee Bat Working Group
- Christopher Rannafors, Owner, BatBnB
- Israel Irwin, Boy Scout, Nashville Troop 3
Read more about Cory’s work here.
Donate to Israel’s Eagle Scout project at GoFundMe.
See live-streaming bats at Bracken Cave in Texas.
The song at the end of the B Segment was Raised By Bats by Aurelio Voltaire.
Tasha A.F. Lemley WPLN NewsCory Holliday, The Nature Conservancy’s cave and karst program director in Tennessee, shows off a preserved bat at a community event to build bat houses.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM