The bats that hibernate all winter are starting to wake up at Sodalis Nature Preserve. There will be a night hike through Sodalis Nature Preserve at 7 p.m. Friday, March 31.
Representatives from the Mississippi Hills Master Naturalists will lead the hike, which will give participants the chance to appreciate nature as the season changes. Frogs such as Spring Peepers and Chorus Frogs are serenading their mates and are especially noisy in Sodalis Nature Preserve at this time of year.
Meagan Garey and Kristy Trevathan are the volunteer Master Naturalists who are directing the nature program, which is free to the public. Reservations may be made online at www.hannibalparks.recdesk.com/Community/Program
Sodalis Nature Preserve was named for the myotis sodalis (Indiana bat) species that was discovered in the park. Bat scientists are estimated that about 215,000 of the bats hibernate in the abandoned limestone mines.
The full Night Hike program lasts about two hours and follows a 2-mile paved trail.