Join the Nightlife: 2024 Recap
October 31, 2024
Thanks to all the Join the Nightlife: Bats and Agriculture attendees who joined us out in the field this year! Guests got hands-on experience with
To find Painted Bats, villagers took us to their rice paddies in small carts pulled by tiny “tractors” that looked like a tiller on two wheels.
We traveled narrow, dirt roads between flooded rice paddies. A cow blocked the road, but the always cheerful Thais got off and pushed backwards to take a different route.
The farmers and their sons looked for dried banana leaves around their rice paddies. Once we had to take an alternate route to avoid a seven-foot king cobra.
When a farmer got stung by a wasp, he took down the nest and ate the larvae, handing one to me. Before I had time to think, I popped it into my mouth and chewed. It actually wasn’t bad.
Lying on his back for hours in 100-degree heat, Merlin would wait for the opportunity to get a shot of bats roosting in a leaf. Nearly constant wind tossed the leaves around in a two-foot arc, leaving only an occasional second-long lull in which to shoot.
The painted bats were quite tolerant of us, but not so if the leaf was touched.
Two solitary males were taken back to Merlin’s studio for photos in flight, fed on mealworms which they ate ravenously, then taken back to their roosts. Merlin set up an infrared beam and got some very nice photos that I’ll post in the next blog.
I’ve included a very nice little video created by Daniel Hargreaves, from a previous trip to the Painted Bat Village of Thailand which captures our same experience.
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Thanks to all the Join the Nightlife: Bats and Agriculture attendees who joined us out in the field this year! Guests got hands-on experience with
Supporter and friend of MTBC, Australian conservation and animal welfare photojournalist Doug Gimesy, had his images recognized in two categories at the recent Siena International
Fieldwork requires a lot of equipment, but photography requires even more! During our June 2024 photography workshop, we transported over 100 lbs. of equipment —
Within the dim limestone passageways of Caverna Santa Catalina, the air came alive with bats. I stood in awed silence, taking in the rush of
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Michael Lazari Karapetian has over twenty years of investment management experience. He has a degree in business management, is a certified NBA agent, and gained early experience as a money manager for the Bank of America where he established model portfolios for high-net-worth clients. In 2003 he founded Lazari Capital Management, Inc. and Lazari Asset Management, Inc. He is President and CIO of both and manages over a half a billion in assets. In his personal time he champions philanthropic causes. He serves on the board of Moravian College and has a strong affinity for wildlife, both funding and volunteering on behalf of endangered species.