In the cool darkness of the Hippodrome State Theatre, Violet spread her wings for her captivated audience.
About 100 people stumbled in and out of the dim theater Saturday to see Violet, a 21-year-old bat, and Edgar, a Rodrigues fruit bat, for an event hosted by the Lubee Bat Conservancy.
The event, meant to raise awareness for endangered bats, is the first time the theater and the conservancy teamed up to prevent the extinction of bats and inform the Gainesville community about conservation.
People sat quietly in the theater as two documentaries played about bat migration and conservation. Then, the bats were carried into the theater, and one bat was taken out for the visitors to admire.
“I thought the event was excellent. Brian gave an excellent presentation, and I know he reached a lot of people with it,” said Gainesville resident Amber Roux.
The Lubee Bat Conservancy is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1989 and extends to 19 countries and multiple nonprofits. Its mission is to preserve the vital need of nature’s bats, said Brian Pope, director of the Lubee Bat Conservancy.
There are 1,250 bat species worldwide, and the conservancy houses 67 of them. It is home to 208 bats and is open to the public only once a year during the annual Florida Bat Festival, Pope said.
“I am so glad we are getting the interest of local communities, I want people to see how cool these amazing creatures are,” he said.
Jacqueline Meyer, 62-year-old Washington, D.C. resident, said she enjoyed learning about how the conservancy protects the bats during her visit to Gainesville.
“I loved seeing the bats,” Meyer said. “They are so elegant and beautiful. I think they are great.”
