Oh, BATS! Watch UC Honors Students Duck a Flying Encounter on Spring Break

A University of Cincinnati study abroad trip to Trinidad is sending back video of some of the student adventures. This video highlights their visit to the Tamana bat cave – described as a prime habitat for vampire bats and home to 11 of Trinidad’s 67 different bat species.

The bats share the cave with flying cockroaches that can grow three inches long, as well as frogs, scorpions and lizards.

Ten honors students traveled to Trinidad over spring break, after spending winter quarter examining how the landscapes in Trinidad have developed from its geologic origins into the present day.

The course is also examining how natural processes such as earthquakes, landslides, floods and extreme weather threaten the inhabitants of Trinidad.

The University Honors Program trip is led by Lewis Owen, head of the UC Department of Geology, Ken Tankersley, assistant professor of anthropology and Brooke Crowley, assistant professor of geology and anthropology, all in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences.

The trip is geared toward helping faculty and students develop a long-term commitment to examining environmental change and landscape evolution in Trinidad and adjacent regions

"We are really excited to be here on the edge of Amazonia and the Caribbean examining aspects of landscape change caused by nature and human induced processes,” Owen says. “We hope to develop our work in Trinidad in the coming years with honors students to help address aspects of environmental management and suitability."

University Honors Program

UC International Programs