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Bats
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Colorado is home to at least 18 species of bats. Nearly 1,000 species live in Earth's tropical and temperate ecosystems. Coloradoan bats include some of our most fascinating mammals, some of our least known and some of our most maligned and misunderstood. One or more species is present in most habitats in the state, but bats are most abundant and diverse in the southern and western countries and in the foothills of the Eastern Slope.
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Description
Diet
Habitat
Reproduction and Life Span
Nuisance Bats
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Description
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Bats are the only mammals that fly. Many species of bats are difficult to distinguish from one another, however. Most Coloradoan bats are brownish, but the western pipistrelle is ashy gray. The spotted bat is black with three large white spots, the hoary bat is frosted white on brown, the silver-haired bat is black with silver-tipped hairs on its back and the red bat is reddish. Ears vary from small, rounded ears of the hoary and red bats to prominent black ears of modest size in several species. The magnificent ears of the spotted and western big-eared bats are so large the animals roll them up when they sleep. Our smallest bat, the western pipistelle, is just 3 inches long and weighs only one-tenth of an ounce. The hoary bat is 5 1/2 inches long and weighs seven-eighths of an ounce. Bats also have distinctive calls, although most of them are far too high pitched for humans to hear and must be altered electronically to be recognized.
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Diet
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Bats are not blind, but have tiny eyes. Colorado bats depend upon their hearing to avoid obstacles and to find prey. They emit high-pitched sounds and listen for the echo from objects in their surroundings. All Colorado bats eat insects, and nearly all of them eat insects only. The pallid bat may forage on the ground and eat scorpions, centipedes, and non-flying insects. The hoary bat eats smaller bats when the opportunity allows. Some bats will eat almost any insect, but others are specialists. The western big-eared bat and the long-eared myotis hover to capture single insects from leaves. Several species eat moths.
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Habitat
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Bats search for food at night, mostly after dark (although the tiny western pipistrelle may begin to feed in late afternoon). Often they awaken to feed again before dawn. Then they move to a suitable day roost to sleep. Many species live in caves, crevices, mines, and tunnels. The big and little brown bats frequently roost in houses. Silver-haired bats roost behind loose tree bark. Because their insect prey is a seasonal resource, Coloradoan bats either hibernate or migrate when cold weather comes. Seven species of bats are known to hibernate in Colorado, and five are known to migrate. Where the other five spend the winter is unknown. That is just one example of how much we stil don't know about these fascinating animals.
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Reproduction and Life Span
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Most bats have a single young each year after a gestation period of about two months. Young develop quickly and learn to fly at about 1 month of age. A variety of predators (especially owls) capture bats. Senseless human harassment kills many of them, and some die because of the stress of hibernation. Maximum longevity in bats is remarkably long for a small mammal. The little brown bat can live over 30 years. Bats sleep all day and some of the night, and some hibernate for eight or nine months of the year.
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Nuisance Bats
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Nuisance bats can be a really big problem in Colorado. To see more information about nuisance bats, visit one of the web sites below.
Related Links:
Division of Wildlife
Bat Conservation
Bats
Incredible Bats
What's So Bad About Bats
USFWS Bats
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