A small brown bat rests on a weathered wooden beam, one of the many nocturnal neighbors you can learn about at Ohio Bat Fest during National Bat Week.
The tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), is considered to be vulnerable due to the spread of a fungal disease called White-nose syndrome (WNS). WNS typically affects populations of bats during the winter but now investigations are being conducted about a different type of threat. These concerns were reported by NBC4i , “Now bats are mysteriously dying in the summer too. One central Ohio woman reached out to Better Call 4 after finding multiple dead bats at her home.” Organizations like The Ohio Bat Lab are trying to connect these ecological issues to public attention and educate eager animal lovers on how they could possibly help.
The Ohio Bat Lab highlights a fun fact stating “Over 20% of the mammal species of the worlds are bats. Bats are long-lived, intelligent, and social animals that play a number of important roles in our ecosystems,”.
The Ohio Bat Lab is a research lab using field research and community engagement to protect biodiversity on the local level. You can learn more about the bat lab and their research during the upcoming Bat Fest on October 24 2026, from 12–5pm at Maple Ridge (3040 Westwood Northern Blvd, Cincinnati, 45211, OH). This free event is designed to celebrate our favorite nocturnal neighbors and kicks off National Bat Week!
Bat Fest will help us “…explore the amazing diversity of bat species that call our planet—and your backyard—home. Dispel misconceptions about bats, and explore the ways that bats and humans can co-exist!”