Every one of the 419 Missouri records for the tricolored bat comes from GBIF, not a single iNaturalist photo, which fits a small bat that spends winters deep in caves and is rarely seen by casual observers. Mark Twain National Forest, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and Ha Ha Tonka State Park all sit atop the cave-riddled Ozark karst this species depends on for hibernation, so the record cluster tracks known hibernacula and survey routes more than general sightings.
Reports peak in March and April, when bats emerge from winter torpor and biologists conduct spring counts and acoustic surveys. That pattern matters more than usual here: NatureServe ranks Missouri’s population S2, Imperiled, and the IUCN lists the species Vulnerable globally, the toll of white-nose syndrome collapsing hibernating colonies across the eastern United States over the past two decades. A record count built almost entirely from survey effort should not be read as a population estimate, especially for a species in this much trouble.
Full species profile
