Indiana bats split their year between two very different homes, and Missouri’s Ozark karst country supplies both. Mark Twain National Forest, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and Ha Ha Tonka State Park all sit over limestone bedrock riddled with caves, the kind of cold, humid chambers the species needs for winter hibernation. That’s a habitat match, not proof the bats favor those exact spots over others nearby.
Missouri’s 91 logged records lean heavily on GBIF (88) over iNaturalist (7), which fits a species biologists mostly find through cave surveys and bat detectors rather than casual photography. September stands out with 17 records, more than any other month, likely tracking when researchers count bats swarming outside caves before winter rather than a true activity spike.
NatureServe ranks the Indiana bat S1, Critically Imperiled, in Missouri, and G2 globally. It’s one of the rarest bats in the state, and white-nose syndrome has hit hibernating colonies hard across its range.
Full species profile
