HCC students develop bat capture skills
Current HCC student Lucas Evanko (left) watches as Blake Ledbetter, a former HCC student who now works as a bat technician, holds a bat. Donated photo
The number of wildlife jobs relating to bat research has spiked significantly in recent years, and a mini grant from the Haywood Community College Foundation will help ensure HCC students get the training they need to enter that burgeoning field.
Wally Woods, who holds a doctorate and is an HCC fish and wildlife instructor, will use the grant to cover the cost of a rabies vaccine. Woods’ profession puts him at a higher-than-normal risk of exposure to rabies, and the pre-exposure vaccine will allow him to safely handle and trap bats, in turn providing valuable training procedures to students.
The increase in bat-related jobs is driven in part by the spread of White Nose Syndrome, which has decimated populations across the East Coast.
“This summer alone, five of HCC’s recent fish and wildlife graduates went on to work in bat-related positions and another is beginning a bat-related master’s program in graduate school,” Woods said. “Learning capture techniques is a highly marketable as well as practical skill for land managers and technicians in the modern wildlife management age to possess. By being able to demonstrate proper capture and handling techniques, our students will be more competitive for these new jobs.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the last 55 years 70 percent of rabies infections acquired in the U.S. were due to bats.
“Rabies is a deadly but preventable disease,” Woods explains. “The peace of mind of not having to worry about rabies is priceless.”
