Self-guided hike self_guided brochure EN | Seite 11

STATION 2
Corozo Trail
Constructing a refuge
What materials would you use if you were
building a shelter to sleep in the forest? If
you think of some type of tent made from
leaves, you are not alone.
Some bats modify leaves, biting and
bending them to use them as tents. For
example, the leaves of the Heliconia are
the main refuge of the white bats.
Observe the shapes of the leaves. They
are an abundant resource, upon which
many creatures depend. In Tirimbina,
people have studied the bats which use
leaves for refuge for many years.
Bat: Ectophylla alba
Plant: Heliconia sarapiquensis
Did you know…17 species of neotropical
bats make tents out of the leaves of plants.
In Tirimbina, the bats use more than 45
different plant species.