Content warning: The story below includes images and a video showing some of the dead bats that washed ashore in Michigan City, Ind., over the weekend.
(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Residents and beachgoers in northwest Indiana were faced with a grisly mystery over the weekend as hundreds of dead bats washed up on Lake Michigan beaches near Michigan City.
On Monday, officials with Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said the “mortality event” was likely tied to recent storms in the area.
“The bats are likely eastern red bats, which are a migratory species,” wrote Marty Benson, with the DNR. “They tend to migrate in groups and, unfortunately, when they encounter storms like we had this weekend, large numbers of bats can be affected.”
On Saturday, WBBM’s Mike Krauser captured video showing the dead bats in the sand. Some people were scooping the bats out of the water with fishing nets.
“My son-in-law took a walk, maybe half-a-mile up the beach toward Michigan, and he counted 21 bats,” said local resident Mike Haney.
Haney later said about 50 bats were scooped up within two hours. Over the course of the day, hundreds of bats were spotted along the shoreline.
Jay Silver, a regular at Sheridan Beach, told WBBM that while he’s seen people wash up along Lake Michigan, he’s “never seen a bat wash up.”
Benson told WBBM that those who find dead bats — associated with this event or not — should not handle it. He wrote that any dead bats should be reported to the DNR at on.in.gov/sickwildlife.
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