The Guano Miner’s Daughter
October 3, 2012
The Batmobile had to be “pushed” out of the parking lot of Khao Chong Pran. Dead battery. Once on the road again with a new
The Batmobile had to be “pushed” out of the parking lot of Khao Chong Pran. Dead battery. Once on the road again with a new
Under the watchful eye of the Buddha of Khao Chong Pran, Merlin photographed the bats residing within, netted by Daniel Hargreaves and soon released. He
The hunt was on for a restaurant owner, Chamni Nakninm, in the town of Chang Pran in Central Thailand. He had formerly specialized in fried
Now on his third trip to Thailand, Merlin wanted to see how the bats were doing in these caves. He also wanted to find some
Merlin’s career in international bat conservation began at Khao Chong Pran Cave in 1982. During a trip funded by Verne Read, Buddhist monks at the
At Sai Yok National Park on Thailand’s western border with Myanmar (Burma), two park rangers accompanied our team to search for the world’s smallest mammal,
The Lonely Planet travel guide Thailand claims Sai Yok National Park is home to “some extremely rare animals.” Merlin first came here in 1982 to photograph one of
With dazzling images of the world’s most colorful bat in the bag, the quest was on to find and photograph the world’s smallest mammal: the Bumblee
Of all the many kinds of bats I’ve photographed, none equal the Painted Bat for spectacular color.
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
2024 © Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation. All rights reserved.
Madelline Mathis has a degree in environmental studies from Rollins College and a passion for wildlife conservation. She is an outstanding nature photographer who has worked extensively with Merlin and other MTBC staff studying and photographing bats in Mozambique, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Texas. Following college graduation, she was employed as an environmental specialist for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. She subsequently founded the Florida chapter of the International Dark Sky Association and currently serves on the board of DarkSky Texas. She also serves on the board of Houston Wilderness and was appointed to the Austin Water Resource Community Planning Task Force.
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.