Clippings:
Excerpts from On the Trail of the Jersey Devil (1993), Peter Brullet
In my years as a park ranger, I’ve heard a lot of stories about what lurks in the wild. These legends are almost entirely baseless. Of course, working out of the Pinelands National Reserve, most of the questions I receive involve the Jersey Devil, but luckily, at least in this case, I can give a somewhat satisfying answer.
… (pg. 55) …
While the legend of the Leeds Devil has taken on a life of its own, it is obvious that many of the early observations are that of the Tsubara Bat, Rostrolongus gradiens. For instance, many early sightings described a creature with the face of a kangaroo or goat and the wings of a bat, though this description has become distorted and exaggerated with time.
The largest North American bat, it is closely related to the slightly larger Central and South American spectral bat. It has unusually long and thin wings, lending to its name; tsubara is literally Japanese for wing. Another instantly identifiable characteristic of the tsubara bat is its long snout, important for preying upon larger animals, which lends it a relatively pterodactylian appearance. It hunts small birds and mammals. It has also been suggested that, based on historical accounts, it would dive for fish, but this has never been observed in within its modern range.
The bat’s range has shrunk dramatically since the colonization of the new world. While the species was not named until the 1970s, reports of large bats on the east coast of the United States stretch back to the 1600s. It was routinely killed by settles, who viewed as dangerous pest that preyed upon livestock. It was even alleged to have carried off babies, despite the bat being incapable of carrying such weight in real life. It is thought to have inhabited the eastern half of the US and southern Quebec at its peak, but currently is only found in scattered locations throughout Tennessee and Arkansas.
Modern specimens are commonly found roosting in caves; the species was first originally described based on a population roosting in Craighead Caverns. However, current research suggest roosting in caves is actually behavior that appeared recently. Historically, the bat is thought to have roosted in tree branches and hollows. However, human hunting selected for roasting in hard to reach areas.
The bat’s wing structure and physiology suggests the capability for long distance flying. It presumably migrated from the northern reaches of its range to the gulf coast, with some arguing its range was even farther. This is somewhat supported by the fact that vagrant individuals have appeared in bizarre locations. Near death specimens have actually confirmed in both Japan and Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately, the populations of the bat have been altered by too much by human intervention to successfully answer these questions.
The largest North American bat, it is closely related to the slightly larger Central and South American spectral bat. It has unusually long and thin wings, lending to its name; tsubara is literally Japanese for wing. Another instantly identifiable characteristic of the tsubara bat is its long snout, important for preying upon larger animals, which lends it a relatively pterodactylian appearance. It hunts small birds and mammals. It has also been suggested that, based on historical accounts, it would dive for fish, but this has never been observed in within its modern range.
The bat’s range has shrunk dramatically since the colonization of the new world. While the species was not named until the 1970s, reports of large bats on the east coast of the United States stretch back to the 1600s. It was routinely killed by settles, who viewed as dangerous pest that preyed upon livestock. It was even alleged to have carried off babies, despite the bat being incapable of carrying such weight in real life. It is thought to have inhabited the eastern half of the US and southern Quebec at its peak, but currently is only found in scattered locations throughout Tennessee and Arkansas.
Modern specimens are commonly found roosting in caves; the species was first originally described based on a population roosting in Craighead Caverns. However, current research suggest roosting in caves is actually behavior that appeared recently. Historically, the bat is thought to have roosted in tree branches and hollows. However, human hunting selected for roasting in hard to reach areas.
The bat’s wing structure and physiology suggests the capability for long distance flying. It presumably migrated from the northern reaches of its range to the gulf coast, with some arguing its range was even farther. This is somewhat supported by the fact that vagrant individuals have appeared in bizarre locations. Near death specimens have actually confirmed in both Japan and Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately, the populations of the bat have been altered by too much by human intervention to successfully answer these questions.
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