 Bats
of Indiana
Big brown Bat
Big Brown bat flying near a cave
(Drawing by CES Media Club)
| Scientific
Name: Eptesicus
fuscus Description:
The
length of the average big brown bat is
between 13-16 inches long. It weighs
between 14-21 grams (0.5-0.7 ounces). It
has a light copper to dark chocolate
colored fur. The wingspan is 32-40
centimeters.
Population:
The
big brown bat is common throughout its
range (see range below). It is the most
abundant bat in Indiana. It can be found
living in many man-made structures such
as buildings in attics, barns, In the
Winter of 2005 there were twenty-five
counted in Wyandotte Caves.
Food: These bats
use echolocation to get their food. They
are insectivores, which means they eat
insects. They eat mosquitoes, mayflies,
other flies, and even ants and beetles.
After feeding they roost in favorite
manmade spots like garages, porches of
houses, bridges.
***CLICK
HERE TO LISTEN TO THE ECHOLOCATION SOUND
OF THE BIG BROWN BAT!***
Range:
They
can be found from Alaska to southern
Canada through southern North America and
on into South America. Summer roots are
usually manmade structures like barns,
attics, bridges. Wintering homes are
somewhat unknown, but many do use mines,
caves, and other underground shelter.
Reproduction:
Mating
happens during Fall before hibernation.
They hibernate in late November to early
December. The females then roost after
leaving hibernation until they give birth
between May to July. Baby bats, called
pups, are born without fur and open their
eyes and ears a few hours after they are
born. These bats have been known to live
up to 20 years.
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The Big Brown bat is
a bat that hibernates in Wyandotte Caves.
Entrance of Big Wyandotte
Cave
(photo by Cannelton Elementary Media Club)
The Big Brown bat is probably the most well known
to man of all bats in the United States. This is
because
they live throughout the lower 48 states as well
as
part of Alaska, southern Canada, and on down
through
South America. These bats favorite roosting areas
are
usually man-made structures such as attics,
barns,
and bridges. They have learned how to adapt to
many
habitats from lowland deserts to forests to
meadows.
They are very good at getting their food of
insects so
they are very important for controlling the
population of
such pests as mosquitoes, flies, and ants. They
are
considered highly beneficial to agriculture since
they
do control agricultural pests and we should try
to
protect them whenever we can.
A Big Brown Bat with a moth
(c) Merlin D. Tuttle
Bat Conservation International
Big Brown bats tend
to use the same roosting areas
year after year, and have been known to use the
same
hibernation site year after year. Wyandotte Caves
have
been used by some Big Brown bats for hibernation.
In
2005, scientists counted 25 Big Brown bats
hibernating there.
If you find that
bats of any kind are living in your attic or your
barn, contact your local forestry service or the
U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service to ask for assistance in
relocating them.
Big Brown bats hanging in
Historic Wyandotte Cave
(courtesy of Dr. Clark McCreedy)
*****************
References/Resources
Population
of Big Brown bats
in Wyandotte and photograph
of Big Brown bat
courtesy of
Dr. Clark McCreedy
and Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources
Drawing
of Big Brown bat
CES Media Club
Photograph
of the Big Brown flying
(c) Merlin D. Tuttle
Bat Conservation International
All other photographs belong to
CES Media Club
BOOKS:
Bats
of the United States
by
Michael J. Harvey, J. Scott Altenbach,
and Troy L. Best, Arkansas Game
& Fish Commission and the U. S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, copyright 1999
Those
Amazing Bats by
Cheryl Mays Halton
Dillon Press, New York copyright 1991
WEBSITES:
Kentucky
Bat Working Group
http://www.biology.eku.edu/bats.htm
Wyandotte Caves
http://www.wyandottecaves.com
Bat Conservation International
http://www.batcon.org
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Comments? Questions?
You can e-mail us at:
jgoble@cannelton.k12.in.us
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