One Kentucky man will spend the next eight months in jail, and another will

receive three years probation for killing more than 100 endangered Indiana

bats in Laurel Cave, Ky.

Lonnie W. Skaggs, Olive Hill, Ky., and Kaleb D. Carpenter, Grayson, Ky.,

today were sentenced in U.S. District Court, Ashland, Ky., for violations

of the Federal Endangered Species Act. U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward B.

Atkins sentenced Skaggs to two eight-month Federal prison sentences, to run

concurrently, for a total of eight months. Carpenter received three years

probation.

The investigation began in October 2007 when Carter Caves State Park

employees documented that visitors had entered Laurel Cave on two occasions

and had killed a total of 105 Indiana Bats; a federally-listed endangered

species. It was later revealed that Carpenter and Skaggs had killed the

bats with flashlights and rocks; and had crushed bats they knocked from the

air and from the cave walls with their feet.

Following the initial incident where 23 bats were killed, Skaggs returned

to the cave a few nights later with another Olive Hill resident and killed

82 more.

“This senseless act of killing dozens of endangered Indiana bats cannot be

tolerated,” said James Gale, Special Agent-in-Charge for the Service’s

Southeast Region. “These bats are endangered and this reckless behavior is

particularly grievous considering the current health of its population and

our work with partners to recover the species.”

The Service designated the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) as in danger of

extinction in 1967, prior to the enactment of the Endangered Species Act.

In the fall Indiana bats migrate to caves, called hibernacula, and by

mid-November enter hibernation where they remain for the duration of

winter. In the summer, female Indiana bats form maternity colonies in

roost trees, where they give birth to a single “pup,” and raise their

young. Roost trees generally consist of snags, which are dead or dying

trees with exfoliating bark, or living trees with peeling bark. Bats are

the only major predators of night-flying insects.

In just one hour a single bat can eat between 600 and 1,000 insect pests.

The Indiana bat population has declined since it was listed as an

endangered species in 1967, and was estimated by the Service in 2009 to be

about 391,163 individuals.

The case was investigated by the Service, Kentucky State Parks, and the

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources; and was prosecuted by

Assistant United States Attorneys Roger West and Rob Duncan.

A significant challenge bats face is White Nose Syndrome (WNS), which has

been decimating bat populations in the East.

WNS was first discovered near Albany, N.Y. in February 2006. It has been

confirmed or suspected in 11 states in the Eastern United States from New

Hampshire to Tennessee. Since 2006, biologists across the Northeast have

reported as much as a 100 percent decline in hibernating bats in affected

caves.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requests that cavers do not enter caves

in all WNS affected states and adjoining states. The Service request

cavers refrain from caving anywhere during the hibernation period

(September – May) to minimize disturbance and mortality to bats.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to

conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for

the continuing benefit of the American people. Visit the Service’s

websites at http://www.fws.gov/ or http://www.fws.gov/southeast.