We didn't catch that episode of "CSI" but we did some sleuthing and tracked it down. It turns out the storyline of episode 22 from season nine involved a tattooist who was experimenting on his clientele by injecting them with rabies from a certain species of bat (we're not sure why). While some poetic license was indeed taken, the rabid-bat aspect of the plot is, in fact, tenuously plausible.
Nevada is populated by some 23 different species of bat, some of which are rare, that either live in or migrate through the state. Many of the resident bats inhabit the Las Vegas Wash, while another popular habitat is offered by the numerous abandoned mines in the state.
As far location cited in the TV episode is concerned, however, our understanding is that Lehman Caves, the stalagmite-filled limestone wonder referenced in the show, which is located sixty miles out of Ely, NV, deep inside Mt. Wheeler, is not home to any bats, although from the pictures below we think you'll agree that it certainly should be. This might have something to do with fact that Lehman Caves attract one of the largest known concentrations of migrant raptors in western North America, for whom a bat would make a tasty snack. As you recollected, these caves are open for guided tours, which start at $8 for 60 minutes for adults. Click the link for more information and season tour schedule.
We've seldom seen bats in the city, but that doesn't mean they're not here. Here's an extract from the QoD for April 18, 2007 about bugs:
"In April 2005, a story hit the local papers about a swarm of millions of moths inside the [Luxor] light beam. It had been an unseasonally wet spring, leading to a proliferation of bugs and insects of all shapes and forms. We understand that moths, like many insects, navigate by the sun and are confused by light sources at night, which throw off their internal navigation system. With its 42.3-billion candle power, the Luxor's beam is one hulluva light source -- the strongest in the world, in fact -- and so many moths were drawn to it that apparently they could be seen all the way from Summerlin on the far west side of town.
"Even stranger than the moths' arrival was their unexpected departure -- one day they simply weren't there anymore. The best explanation that we heard for the sudden exit was that the swarm of insects had attracted a commensurate swarm of hungry bats, who gorged on the airborne buffet until the moths were no more." (See pictures below.)
As to the rabid aspect, during the course of investigating this answer (crime lab-style), we learned that back in 2000 there were reports of rabid bats in Clark County and in 2008 another positive bat was discovered. Earlier this year, for the first time since 1994, Clark County was placed under a 60-day rabies quarantine after an unvaccinated semi-feral cat in East Helena produced a presumptive-positive test for the disease, but that's since been lifted. In spite of all the vampiric associations, it's unusual for a bat's bite to penetrate human skin, but if it does happen, you'll almost certainly be required to receive the unpleasant rabies vaccination, which is injected into the stomach.
