Cori Lausen
Director of Bat Conservation
Western BatsDr. Cori Lausen, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada’s Director of Bat Conservation, lives and works in British Columbia. She has an MSc and PhD in bat ecology, physiology and landscape genetics. Her research and conservation has largely focussed on bats in western Canada, where she has developed and directs the Western Bat Program. This WCSC program consists of a conservation team largely focussed on Alberta and prairie bat conservation, and another team leading conservation efforts in BC.
Major projects include the development and successful field-testing of a naturally-occurring bacterial wing probiotic to prevent the spread and severity of white-nose syndrome in western bats; the development (Steering Committee) and implementation of the North American Bat Monitoring program (NABat), with more than 60 grid cells monitored in BC; engaging cavers as citizen-scientists to find bat hibernacula (BatCaver.org) and fill important knowledge gaps about winter ecology; and the design and testing of new methods of creating 'tree roosts' as bat maternity roosts in areas where natural tree roosts are limiting. She has taught many bat-related courses in US, Canada and abroad including including bat capture and acoustic inventory courses for Indigenous capacity-building in BC.
Cori is engaged in bat conservation at local, provincial, national and international scales, collaborating with academics, First Nations, and multiple levels of government partners in US and Canada. She supervises or oversees graduate students at multiple universities, including at Thompson Rivers University where she is adjunct faculty.
Stories and op-eds
Bats are superheroes of the night. Their superpowers could help us protect them.
Many of us might struggle to see a moose on a moonless night, let alone a mosquito. But some bats have a nifty trick — they use their ears to locate their bug prey.Cori Lausen
Night sounds: Listening to and understanding bats, our only flying mammal
We sat down for an audio interview with WCS Canada bat specialist, Dr. Cori Lausen to learn what makes bats so fascinating.Cori Lausen
What’s the Best Way to Welcome Bats to the Neighborhood? The Goldilocks Approach.
In a warming climate, some bat houses could be death traps. But community-level bat boxes can help give bats more room and options to raise young safely.Cori Lausen
Media coverage
'Always left in the dark': Federal funding delays are holding back species conservation
Be Not Afraid. Bats Are Amazing
A Deadly Fungal Invader Is Threatening BC’s Bats
Press releases
