Lubee Bat Conservancy facts for kids
Lubee Bat Conservancy is a special place in Gainesville, Florida. It's a nonprofit organization, which means it works to help animals, not to make money. It started in 1989. At first, it helped many animals, but now it focuses only on bats. They especially care for large bats called megabats.
Lubee Bat Conservancy is approved by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This means it meets high standards for animal care.
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What is the History of Lubee Bat Conservancy?
Lubee Bat Conservancy started in 1989. It was first called the Lubee Foundation, Inc. A person named Luis F. Bacardi created it. The name "Lubee" comes from his name.
In its early years, the foundation cared for many different animals. These included parrots, monkeys, and ostriches. Sometimes, animals stayed there temporarily before going to places like Disney's Animal Kingdom.
The Bacardi family had a special interest in bats. Bats were even the inspiration for their family's logo!
When Luis Bacardi passed away in 1991, the foundation changed its main focus. It decided to care only for bats. All the other animals found new homes.
What Kind of Facilities Does Lubee Bat Conservancy Have?
Lubee Bat Conservancy is located on a large ranch. It covers about 110 acres (45 hectares). This is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Gainesville, Florida.
The conservancy has special buildings for bats. These areas keep the bats warm and comfortable. They also have big outdoor spaces where bats can fly around.
The conservancy also has a medical center for the bats. This includes an examination room. They can even give bats anesthesia if needed. There are also special rooms for bats to recover or be isolated if they are sick.
What Bat Species Live at Lubee Bat Conservancy?
Lubee Bat Conservancy is home to over 200 bats. Most of these are megabats. Megabats are also known as fruit bats. They are usually larger than other bats and eat fruits or nectar.
Megabat Species
Here are some of the megabat species that live at Lubee:
- Straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum)
- Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus)
- Gray-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus)
- Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus)
- Small flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus)
- Large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus)
- Lesser short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus brachyotis)
- Little golden-mantled flying fox (Pteropus pumilus)
- Rodrigues flying fox (Pteropus rodricensis)
- Spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus)
Microbat Species
In 2018, Lubee also welcomed some new bats. These bats came from another organization that closed. Among them were two species of microbats. Microbats are generally smaller than megabats. They often use echolocation to find food.
The microbat species at Lubee include:
- Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus)
- Evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis)
