Murciélagos en Masaya

Volcan Masaya is a national park about 30 minutes south of Managua. We drove in after hours to catch bats. Merlin Tuttle is teaching a group of students and biologists about bats.

The cave and trap site were on the other side of the crater, an active crater that off gases all the time. The lava is visible at night though we didn't stop on the way out of the park.

The group of students had set up a bat trap at the mouth of a cave. The cave looked like it was a collapsed lava tube, collapsed a long time ago if the trees growing out of it are any indication.

The trap is two parallel series of monofilament line strung vertically above a plastic bag. Bats flying out of the cave hit the line and slide into the bag. The trap is so effective that the bag has to be emptied frequently to prevent the bats from suffocating, a very unlikely event so long as someone is there to watch things.