10/27/2026
As continues, we wanted to share an update to some research being done at Weaver Cave Preserve! 🦇
Last year we posted this thermal camera footage taken of bats exiting Weaver Cave in 2025. The camera captured far fewer bats exiting in June than in August likely because Weaver Cave in a maternity cave for gray bats and pups are born between early May and late June. By August, these pups are able to fly, increasing the number of bats exiting at that time. Another possibility is that as summer progresses; more bats are utilizing Weaver Cave.
The exciting news is that, while the August thermal camera data is still being processed, we now know that a minimum of 5,596 bats exited the cave in June! Because bat counts before and after these pups begin to fly can double, this means there are likely between 11 and 12,000 bats utilizing Weaver Cave late in the summer! This is certainly something to be excited about!
The data captured is part of a larger study effort conducted by Dr. Laura Kloepper and the University of New Hampshire. A special thanks to Dr. Molly Simonis of Auburn University for all her hard work and the expertise she shared.
