The Mexican Long-Nosed Bat is a large bat compared to other bats in the United States. Its life span is 10 years; length is measured about 2.75 to 3.75 inches and a dark gray sooty brown color. It has a nose with a triangular leaf-like tip. It has a tongue that extends about three inches for feeding on the nectar of the flowers. It is also a pollinator for the Agave flowing plant. After feeding on the nectar on the flower they groom themselves and also feed off of the leftover pollen off of their fur from their body. The pollen provides vitamins and minerals and is rich in protein. Agave nectar is at least 17-22% sugar and the pollen is about 50% protein. These bats migrate from the southern part of Mexico to the northern part of Mexico and southern part of Texas and New Mexico for the summer months. There young are born in the spring months April, May, and early June in Mexico, then move northward with their mothers. They produce one to two young per year.
The Mexican Long-Nosed Bat has been found living in species can be found in pine-oak and deciduous forest and desert scrub, also in caves, abandon mines, tunnels, and old building and range from southeast Arizona, south New Mexico, and west Texas (USA) to south Mexico and Guatemala. In Texas, they are found mostly in the Emory Cave, Big Bend National Park (BBNP) located in the Chisos Mountains of Texas. This species has been on the endangered species list since 30th of August, 1988 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Mexico also listed this species as endangered in 1991 under the Mexican Endangered Species Act. Population varies from 0 to 5000 in the recent years at Big Bend National Park.
The reason in the decline in the population to this species is due to the decrease in their food supply. The bats food source comes from the nectar of the Agave plant. This agave plant grows for about 10 to 20 years and only blooms its flower once in the plants lifetime. Humans have an effect on these plants because the agave plants are used for the production of alcoholic drink such as tequila. The agave plant is harvest right before it’s their time to bloom removing the “cabeza” or carbohydrate-rich meristem, so therefore the bats don’t receive their food and the plants cannot reproduce. Another reason for the declining population is the threat the vampire bats have on the livestock. The bat colonies are destroyed due to these vampire bats in Mexico and the Mexican Long-Nosed Bats are just innocent bystanders.
Recovery efforts include planting agaves plants along the roadways in the Northern Mexico. More than 50,000 agaves have been planted in Tamaulipas, in effort for the supporting the population of the Mexican Long-Nosed Bat. Some of the caves in the southern Texas and New Mexico have been closed off to human threat in order to not disturb the bat colonies. Efforts to work with liquor industry to help replant the agave plant for more food to supply the bats. Monitoring the roost site also helps the bats not to be destroyed from humans that harm the roost sites.
