Don’t go batty. You should never handle a bat because it forces them to use up their fat stores and they can die. Bats are our buddies because they typically eat half their body weight in insects every night. And left unmolested they can live for over 30 years!

Meet Myotis septentrionalis (Northern Long-Eared Bat).

And this is Myotis lucifugus [lucifugus means "Light Flee-er"] otherwise known as the Little Brown Bat.

These bats are being handled by a trained wildlife technician, the dashing wrangling ranger Dan Nolfi, who is making a positive ID on the band. This bat was originally banded on June 6, 2001 by Tennessee Tech researchers when it was captured in a storage building in Cades Cove. It was caught again recently by Dan as part of a bi-annual population survey and for scientists who are studying bats’ movements, roosting, hibernation, and maternity sites.