This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Supporters Attend Bat Tower Talk

Temple Terrace residents attended the Sept. 1 event to learn more about the Reconstruction Project.

More than 60 supporters attended a Sept. 1 to learn more about the , an ongoing effort by the Bat Tower Committee, a non-profit group that wants to rebuild the city’s landmark.

There was a small-scale bat tower model, bat tower wine, stained-glass bats and even a couple real bats for people to look at.

Temple Terrace’s original bat tower was built in 1924 along the banks of the Hillsborough River behind what is now 933 Riverhills Drive. Temple Terrace developers cleared the land for the structure. Arsonists burned it down in 1979.

Find out what's happening in Temple Terracewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The committee would like to place the new tower along the Tampa Bypass Canal across from the on Harney Road. The land belongs to the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD).

“We are evaluating the request (to use the proposed land) internally and have indicated to the group that we will get back with questions in the near future,“ said Colleen E. Kruk of the Land Use and Protection Section, Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Find out what's happening in Temple Terracewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

George and Cynthia Marks, founders of the Florida Bat Conservancy, were the featured speakers during the Bat Tower Talk. George Marks explained why the committee thinks the land is the best location for the tower.

“The SWFWMD site meets the primary requirements of a prime location,” he said. “Open space is needed so bats can fly out unobstructed. The higher the better, preferably with a drop of four feet, so bats can get the air beneath their wings to fly. And water. Another benefit of the large open space is sufficient parking space. Additionally, there are no homes located nearby.”

The bat tower model showed the louvered, or open, sides where bats would enter the tower. The tower would be build in three phases:

  • Phase 1—the base and 14 feet up from ground level
  • Phase 2—the installation of the cedar shingles over a metal framework (different from the wood interior framing of Dr. Charles Campbell‘s 1924 design)
  • Phase 3—the installation of the interior wood slats three-quarters of an inch apart

The structure would be able to house 750,000 bats.

Annual cleaning of a bat house is recommended, said Marks. The proposed design incorporates a hopper at the bottom so the guano, or excrement, can be easily emptied into a truck bed beneath the structure. Bat guano is very expensive as a fertilizer.

Cynthia Marks gave those in attendance a close-up view of the tiny mammals, which are about four inches long.

“Bats most likely to occupy the proposed tower are the Brazilian free tail bat and the evening bat,” she said. “Both species are native to Florida and will roost together.”

There is no smell associated with bats. The bat guano has no odor. The Brazilian free-tail bat does have a musk gland that is used to attract a mate.

There are 13 species of bats in Florida, four in the Tampa Bay area, Marks said. Native Florida bats can consume 600 insects an hour or 3,000 per night. The female bat typically gives birth to one pup per year.

Approximately 70 percent of bats eat insects, Marks said. The rest feed on fruit nectar, pollen and fish. A few are carnivorous. Only three species feed on blood (vampire bats) and live in Central and South America.

Bats are not blind. They have the same five senses humans do (smelling, hearing, tasting, seeing and feeling). Many species have highly-developed, ultrasonic bio-sonar capabilities, referred to as “echolocation.” They use those to navigate and catch insects in total darkness, Marks said.

“The benefits of bats (eating insects) far outweigh the risks reports the Centers for Disease Control,” she said.

If you find a bat on the ground, or someplace it does not belong, do not touch it with bare hands, she said.

“Bats are not aggressive, but like many wild animals, they will bite in self defense,” she said. “Bats don’t attack people, and they won't get tangled in your hair. Bats are actually quite timid and basically ignore humans. Bats aren’t rodents, and they aren’t birds.”

You can’t tell if a bat has rabies, said the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Rabies can be confirmed only by having the animal tested in a laboratory.

Temple Terrace is home to more than eight smaller bat houses. Five are on city property. A triple chamber house can hold up to 300 of the tiny mammals. You can put a bat house in your yard.

According to the Florida Bat Conservancy, the most successful bat house in Florida is located at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville. The UF bat house is home to more than 100,000 Florida bats. Most of these are free-tailed bats, but evening bats and southeastern myotis also use the large bat condo. These roosts are somewhat smaller, approximately a third of the size of the proposed Temple Terrace Bat Tower.

For more information about the Bat Tower Reconstruction Project, email Grant Rimbey, chairman of the Bat Tower Committee, at grimbey@ij.net.   

To make a tax deducible donation to the project, send a check payable to the City of Temple Terrace and referenced for the bat tower project, to:

Al Latina
7002 Doreen Street
Tampa, FL 33617

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Temple Terrace