and within that distance observed no bat sign. Bats could roost 

 in the deeper portions of the shafts, however, and these shafts 

 could provide good winter roosting habitat. For the most part, 

 the shafts lack crevices within them, and most roosting bats 

 would be exposed openly in the shaft. These sites would probably 

 be difficult to reach during the winter, but it may be- useful to 

 search them in spring and/or to erect nets at their entrances 

 during subsequent field seasons. 



Several days were spent in BCNRA, and while no netting was done, 

 several Myotis spp. were observed foraging over the lake, and 

 three Myotis volans with young were found on 17 July in the 

 rafters of the old post office at Hillsborro, MT. 



The Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (BCNRA) , to the east 

 of the Pryor Mountains, possesses potential foraging and roosting 

 habitat for bats. Two specimens of the spotted bat are known 

 from the area. A spotted bat was found dead near the Yellowtail 

 Visitor Center near Fort Smith, Montana, in 1981, and a live 

 spotted bat was photographed at south district visitor center 

 near Lovell, Wyoming in 1982 (T. Peters, per. com.). The tall 

 (300 m) cliffs in this area provide potential habitat for this 

 and other species of bats, and is similar to that described as 

 spotted bat roosting areas (Woodsworth et al., 1981). 



DISCUSSION 



The discovery during the summer of 1989 of evidence of breeding 

 by the pallid bat in Montana was significant. This species was 

 known in Montana from only one specimen taken at Gyp Spring 

 (Shryer and Flath, 1980) and its status in Montana is uncertain. 

 Eight pallid bats were captured at Gyp Spring during the summer, 

 and four of those were lactating females. This presents strong 

 evidence that this species breeds in Montana. Further, a 

 lactating female was captured south of Ashland, MT approximately 

 160 km northeast of Gyp Spring. This indicates that this species 

 is not restricted to the Pryor Mountain area, and is more 

 widespread in the state. During the next field season, an 

 attempt will be made to locate more pallid bats in the Gyp Spring 

 area, and to locate roosting sites. On a broader scale, beyond 

 the scope of this study, it would be desirable to search for this 

 species throughout south-central Montana, especially between the 

 Pryor Mountain Area and Ashland, in order to determine its 

 distributional range in Montana. 



Since the number of bats captured at most sites was relatively 

 low (except at Mystery Cave and Little Ice Cave) is necessary to 

 implement the use of a bat detector to complement mist netting. 

 Bat detectors, while limited in their accuracy in identifying all 

 species, can give a more accurate account of bat activity and 

 abundance at sites than does mist netting (Fenton et al., 1987). 



16 



