| Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge | |
|---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
 The Mary and Murray Looney Education and Research Center on the Ozark Plateau National Wildlife refuge, near Colcord, Oklahoma. | |
  Map of the United States | |
| Location | Adair, Cherokee, Delaware, Ottawa counties, Oklahoma, United States |
| Nearest city | Colcord, Oklahoma |
| Coordinates | 36°19′05″N94°42′36″W / 36.31811°N 94.70992°W Coordinates: 36°19′05″N94°42′36″W / 36.31811°N 94.70992°W |
| Area | 4,200 acres (17 km2) |
| Established | 1986 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Website | Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge |
Originally known as the Oklahoma Bat Caves National Wildlife Refuge, Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge was established for the protection of endangered bats and their habitat. The refuge is made up of several parcels of land located in northeastern Oklahoma. These parcels contain numerous caves considered crucial for the bats' survival.
An endangered species is a species which has been categorized as very likely to become extinct. Endangered (EN), as categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is the second most severe conservation status for wild populations in the IUCN's schema after Critically Endangered (CR).
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera; with their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more manoeuvrable than birds, flying with their very long spread-out digits covered with a thin membrane or patagium. The smallest bat, and arguably the smallest extant mammal, is Kitti's hog-nosed bat, which is 29–34 mm (1.14–1.34 in) in length, 15 cm (5.91 in) across the wings and 2–2.6 g (0.07–0.09 oz) in mass. The largest bats are the flying foxes and the giant golden-crowned flying fox, Acerodon jubatus, which can weigh 1.6 kg (4 lb) and have a wingspan of 1.7 m.
In ecology, a habitat is the type of natural environment in which a particular species of organism lives. It is characterized by both physical and biological features. A species' habitat is those places where it can find food, shelter, protection and mates for reproduction.
The endangered cave species include the Ozark big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens), gray bat (Myotis grisescens), Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), and Ozark cavefish (Amblyopsis rosae)
The Ozark big-eared bat is an endangered species found only in a small number of caves in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, the southern central United States. Also known as the western big-eared bat, the long-eared bat, and the lump-nosed bat, its appearance is defined by a pair of outsize ears and a lump-adorned nose. The Ozark big-eared bat is the largest and reddest of the five subspecies of Corynorhinus townsendii and is medium-sized and weighs from 0.2 to 0.5 ounces. It has very large, 1-in-long ears that connect at the base across the forehead. The snout has large, prominent lumps above the nostrils. These particular bats feed on moths and other insects; they forage along forest edges.
The gray bat once flourished in caves all over the southeastern United States, but due to human disturbance, gray bat populations declined severely during the early and mid portion of the 20th century. At one cave alone, the Georgetown Cave in northwestern Alabama, populations declined from 150,000 gray bats to 10,000 by 1969. 95% of gray bats now only roost in 9 caves. M. grisescens has been listed as federally endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1976, and is protected under the Endangered Species Act. Gray bat populations were estimated at approximately 2 million bats around the time they were placed on the Endangered Species list. By the early 1980s populations of gray bats dropped to 1.6 million. With conservation efforts in place, in 2002, gray bat populations were estimated to have reached 2.3 million.
The Indiana bat is a medium-sized mouse-eared bat native to North America. It lives primarily in southern and midwestern states and in parts of the south of the United States and is listed as an endangered species. The Indiana bat is gray, black, or chestnut in color and is 1.2–2 inches and weighs 4.5 – 9.5 grams. It is similar in appearance to the more common little brown bat but is distinguished by its feet size, toe hair length, pink lips and a keel on the calcar.
To protect the fragile habitats provided by the caves and the forests surrounding them, this refuge is currently closed to the general public.
