By Joshua Parrott, Staff Writer

The state of Texas is home to 32 different species of bats.

In late March, Moody Coliseum was once again a temporary home to one of those bats. Tom Lee, associate professor of biology, said a single bat got in through the air vents and made a few choice appearances during Chapel.

Kevin Watson, chief administrative services officer, said this wasn’t the first time a bat had gotten inside Moody Coliseum.

“We have had bats in Moody off and on for several years,” Watson said. “As they migrate they look for places to stay, and for some reason they seem to like our coliseum.”

Watson said he wasn’t even aware of the problem inside Moody Coliseum until after the bat disappeared.

Lee also added bats live in Abilene most of the year.

Watson said the university has found ways to avoid possible future bat raids.

“We have done extensive sealing of the building in the past,” Watson said.

Watson said bats are able to travel through small holes, “seemingly no larger than a quarter.”

Eddie McFadden, manager of building maintenance, said he has seen worse bat situations inside Moody Coliseum-like 700 to 800 bats.

“They were just migrating,” McFadden said. “There was a little cold snap, and they were cold and migrating south. They were just cold.”

McFadden said his department plans to take additional measures this summer to keep Moody Coliseum bat-free.

“We plan on doing some proactive work to keep those little critters from getting in,” McFadden said. “There are some openings around the top of Moody Coliseum where we will put some new [metal] flashing.”