SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Montana is filled with natural wonders and famous tourist attractions - Yellowstone, Glacier National Parks - not, however, BJ Leiderman, who writes our theme music. Lately, a new kind of wildlife tourism is also becoming popular - bat tours. Biologists are taking people out to see the creatures whose survival is in jeopardy. Yellowstone Public Radio's Kayla Desroches has more.
KAYLA DESROCHES, BYLINE: On an August week night, Melanie Hall (ph) finally got tickets to something she's been trying to join for a while now. So she brought her daughter's whole basketball team - the Helena Shooting Stars.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: Yeah.
MELANIE HALL: How's the crew?
(CROSSTALK)
HALL: It's really just very cool to be out on the lake at Gates of the Mountains in the evening, watching the sun go down. It's very Montana.
DESROCHES: Gates of the Mountains is in a canyon of steep, craggy cliffs on either side of the Missouri River.
HALL: I'm glad to be able to share it with, you know, a bunch of 11-year-olds.
DESROCHES: During the day, thousands of bats sleep in the cliffs, waiting for sunset to swoop down into the river valley for a meal. Boat tours like this one are a rare opportunity to see bats up close and personal.
SHANNON HILTY: First of all, this is a magical spot for bats.
DESROCHES: Shannon Hilty, Montana state bat biologist, is one of the leaders of this tour.
HILTY: Just a bird. Don't get excited.
DESROCHES: Montana's bat experts say they've been holding observation activities for roughly a decade but have seen public demand surge over the last five years in response to an increased focus on conservation in policy and media.
HILTY: Oh, look at the sky right here.
DESROCHES: This sunset boat ride on the Missouri is one of the most popular tours biologists lead statewide in the summer. As the first few gray bodies skim the surface of the water, handheld devices most passengers were given amplify the animal's ultrasonic chirps.
(SOUNDBITE OF BATS CHIRPING)
DESROCHES: As more bats glide down, passengers gather at the back of the boat, watching them flit in and out of its bright lights.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #2: So cute.
HILTY: You can get closer. Don't be scared.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #2: Bye, little bats.
DESROCHES: 12-year-old Serena Light (ph) is here with her mom and sisters. She home schools and is especially interested in bats.
SERENA LIGHT: I don't know if I've been on a boat, and I don't know if I like it, but I honestly think bats are pretty cool.
DESROCHES: That's why 11-year-old Mary Grace Hall (ph) is here, too.
MARY GRACE HALL: I really just think their wings are so interesting 'cause they use their wings as their hand. They actually have five bones in their wings that work as their fingers. And I just think - I think they're just really interesting animals.
(SOUNDBITE OF BATS CHIRPING)
DESROCHES: State wildlife managers are encouraging this growing interest to raise awareness about bats and their vulnerability to threats like disease. They say they save the agricultural industry millions of dollars a year by controlling bug populations.
CHAD BROWN: And, you know, they eat grasshoppers and stuff. It's great 'cause I have a lot of those, so...
DESROCHES: Chad Brown (ph) is on a walking bat tour at the Billing Zoo. Tickets for this one were hard to get, also. Brown says he thought bats just carried rabies, and he grew up afraid of them, but he's not anymore.
BROWN: We were going to try and build one of these bat houses, I think, and promote keeping them around.
DESROCHES: Montana's bat experts are planning more bat observation activities and educational opportunities statewide. They say they're excited about the growing popularity of these tours as a tool to spread awareness about the nocturnal animals and their conservation.
For NPR News, I'm Kayla Desroches in Billings, Montana. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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