(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Forest Preserves of Cook County have been doing a study of bats over the past four decades. One conclusion: Bats like Chicago.
One of the leaders of the bat study is Chris Anchor, wildlife biologist for the Cook County Forest Preserves. He said having bats in your neighborhood is a good thing.
"They're kind of like the canary in the coal mine,” he said.
In other words, if the environment is healthy, the bats will have a healthy presence.
Anchor has found more diversity of bat species in the city.
"One of the things that was totally unexpected was, as we moved from the rural, agricultural areas of Cook County into the heart of the city, the densities actually went up -- which is counterintuitive.
"You always assume that as you move away from the city, animals' habitat would improve and thus the density and diversity of animals would also increase."
Rural areas had high densities of bats, but not as many species as in the city, Anchor said.