Visitors to Sauta Cave on Tuesday night will get the added bonus of a program on bats.
Keith Hudson, wildlife biologist with the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Nongame Wildlife Program, will share his expertise on the quarter-million gray bats in the protected cave near Scottsboro, Ala.
The gray bat colony is the largest roosting colony east of the Mississippi. The bats emerge about 30 minutes before true dark to feed on insects.
The program, which is sponsored by the Land Trust of Huntsville & North Alabama, will start at 7 p.m. CDT.
The entrance to Sauta Cave is just past mile marker 131 on Highway 72 going east toward Scottsboro. The driveway is closed to cars, so participants will need to park on the shoulder of Highway 72, then walk about 100 yards to the observation platform.
Land Trust officials recommend that participants wear sturdy shoes, a poncho with hood and bring a flashlight.
Reservations are not required. Admission is free.
For more information on the program, call the Land Trust at 256-534-5263 or visit www.LandTrust-HSV.org. For more about the cave, call 256-353-7243 or visit www.fws.gov/sautacave.