TPWD TV BILLION DOLLAR BATS: Winged mammals that are a 
boon to agriculture....on Passport to Texas.

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Texas Parks and Wildlife television series airs a 
segment this month that puts the spotlight on a shy 
flying mammal - the Mexican Free-tailed bat. Ron Kabele 
is a produce for the show.

And the name of the story is Billion Dollar Bats. It 
concentrates on the economic impact that bats have. 
There are more bats in Texas than any other state in the 
country. In Austin, along the Congress Street Bridge, 
there's anywhere from a million, to a million and a half 
bats that come out every night. And they eat anywhere 
from ten to fifteen tons of insects. These insects feed 
on agricultural crops, which in turn reduce the productivity 
of agriculture. So, farmers love it, because it's a way of 
doing natural pesticide control. The producer Lee Smith 
staged this thing with this auctioneer. They're auctioning 
cattle and things like that, then they go and they 
auction these bats.It's all staged, but it was cute.

Check your local listings.

That's our show...for Texas Parks and Wildlife...I'm Cecilia Nasti.