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Monday, February 17, 2025

A video of the wildlife to be found at Lake Alice and the Bat House, accompanied by a brief description of the Bat House.

Florida Bat House

By MATTHEW GONZALEZ

Night Flyers

By LIDIA DINKOVA, Alligator Contributing Writer

The alligator may be UF's king of the swamp, but the bat has a special place in the campus community. The UF Bat House, located on Museum Road across Lake Alice, attracts an audience every night as the bats fly out from their home at dusk and begin their nightlong scavenge for mosquitoes.

The house has approximately 100,000 bats, said George Marks, president of the Florida Bat Conservancy. "It is the most successful bat house in North America and perhaps the world," Marks said. The bats never fail to satisfy their audience. Heather Welty, a Concordia University student who was in town visiting friends, had to stop to witness as the bats were released into the night. "It was a cool experience, one I will never forget."

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