Text by Paula Dittrick, TMNCPC blogmaster, photos from Mar. 1 Coastal Prairie Chapter Courier newsletter as provided by Houston Bat Team.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is trying to better understand wildlife deaths, including fish and bats, associated with Winter Storm Uri (mid-February 2021).
TP&W asks iNaturalists to contribute any observations of wildlife suspected killed due to the cold and to include photos where possible.
Observers also are asked to complete the observation field “number of Individuals.”
As of Mar. 2,the most observations on this iNat page was hardhead catfish with 170 observations. Mexican Free-tail bat observations reached 93 total as of Mar. 2 on the same iNat page from various locations across the state.
Separately, Diana Foss, a TP&W Urban Wildlife Biologists, said February’s freezing temperatures contributed to the deaths of an estimated 2,000 Mexican free-tailed bats under Houston’s Waugh Bridge.
“A lot of them probably died of dehydration or starvation,” Foss, coordinator of the Houston Bat Team, told the Houston Chronicle. “A lot of the young ones probably didn’t have enough body fat stored to last the short hibernation period they needed.”
She said bats stay under the bridge instead of seeking food when temperatures drop below 50 degrees. Houston-area weather forecasters issued various hard-freeze warnings during Feb. 14 through Feb. 20.