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Hundreds of Thousands of Bats Call Kyle Field Home During Fall

Updated: Fri 6:41 PM, Sep 02, 2011

There's something lurking in the shadows of Kyle Field this time of year you might not know about.

News 3 caught some amazing footage of what's calling the stadium home.

There's always great entertainment to see at Texas A&M's Kyle Field but have you ever seen a show like this?

Mexican Free-Tailed bats migrate through College Station every fall bringing with them their babies.

Texas A&M Economics Freshman Viviana Pequeno finds it hard to believe.

"I would say that they're birds. I was walking back from the Rec Center and I looked in like the source was like inside Kyle Field and they just kept coming and coming and they wouldn't stop... It was pretty scary. I was freaking out for a while," said Pequeno.

"There's no way to get a definitive number. We're kind of their migration point to north and south and when they come back with their young after raising them north of us they said there could be anywhere up to ¾ of a million bats that come through Kyle Field," said Mike Caruso, Texas A&M Associate Athletic Director for Events and Game Operations.

Caruso says the misunderstood mammals typically don't interact with humans but can carry rabies.

"They've pretty much had it to themselves for most of the summer and now we're going to have to share it with 86,000 of their closest friends," he said.

With 86,000 people coming to Kyle Field Sunday night the university is warning fans to be on the lookout for these bats and to notify staff if you see any on the ground. Now they'll actually have pest control people around in case any problems arise.

"We'll send the batman to take of them," said Mike Caruso.

Taking care of these free-tailed bats that like to free-load in Aggieland.

The athletic department is submitting a request for proposal for next year to install nets that would keep the bats from returning in the future.

By the way the Mexican Free-Tailed bats are the official state flying mammal and are protected.


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