Utah school embracing migratory bats

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Graduates and workers at a high school in Salt Lake City say an annual migratory visit from a group of bats has become an honored tradition.

Former West High School student Kevin Hinerman said while migrating bats tend to find their way into the school's vents and, sometimes, hallways, their presence has evolved into a veritable tradition, The Salt Lake Tribune said Monday.

"If you go to the top floor at night after a dance or football game, sometimes you can hear them tussling around," Hinerman said. "It's fun. They're really not that big; smaller than a mouse."

School Principal Margery Parker said the bats' visit tends to last for three weeks each year and students have learned to embrace the animals, figuratively at least.

"It's only three weeks in the fall that we see them," Parker told the newspaper. "We do get a lot of bat jokes around here, though. And a lot of bat puns."

The Tribune said school officials, recognizing the difficulty in trying to change the bats' migratory route, has installed "bat condos" on the school's roof to offer the animals a temporary home on their annual journey.