Bats are found in abundance in Chinese and Taiwanese art. Around the corner from our hotel in Beigang, we visited a 400-year-old Temple dedicated to Matsu, the goddess of the sea. Matsu’s birthday is the 23rd day of the third lunar month and coincides with the return of the golden bats from their winter hibernation sites in the mountains. The town of Beigang celebrates both with a festival.
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Daniel Hargreaves is a lifelong bat conservationist who has worked globally to facilitate progress, including co-founding Trinibats, a non-profit bat conservation organization in Trinidad. He has organized and led field workshops worldwide, including five for MTBC. Following a long and successful career in business, he now manages a network of bat reserves for the Vincent Wildlife Trust in the UK, supervising research and development of new and innovative conservation techniques. Daniel also is one of the world’s premier bat photographers.
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 DarkSky 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.
