Bats of Canada facts for kids

There are eighteen different kinds of bats in Canada. You can find them in many parts of the country. Bats are insectivores, which means they mainly eat insects. They can be hunted by animals like falcons, hawks, owls, snakes, cats, and raccoons.

Amazing Bat Species in Canada

A red bat roosting in a tree

Canada is home to many interesting bat species. Each one has unique features and habits!

Meet the Little Brown Bat

The little brown bat is the most common bat in Canada. It lives almost everywhere, especially in Eastern Canada. These bats are active at night, which means they are nocturnal. During the day, they sleep in dark places. At night, they fly around to catch insects.

Little brown bats use special sounds to find their food. This is called echolocation. They send out sounds, and when the sounds bounce off an insect, they hear the echo. This helps them know where the insect is. They can send out 20 sounds per second. When they chase food, it can go up to 200 sounds per second!

Discover the Big Brown Bat

The big brown bat lives in southern parts of Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. You can also find them all over Alberta. Male big brown bats usually live alone. But female bats gather in groups called "maternity colonies" in spring and summer. These groups can have up to 75 adult females and their babies.

They hunt for flying insects on warm, dry nights. In winter, they hibernate (sleep deeply). They travel short distances to find safe spots like mines and caves to sleep.

The Hoary Bat: Canada's Largest Bat

The hoary bat is the biggest bat in Canada! It lives in many areas, including Alberta, southern British Columbia, and most of Ontario. This bat has grey fur with white tips, making it look "frosted." That's why it's called "hoary."

Hoary bats live alone and sleep in trees. They eat large insects like wasps, dragonflies, beetles, and moths.

Northern Long-Eared Myotis

Northern long-eared myotis bats live across Eastern Canada. They are also found in parts of Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon. They hibernate in caves and mines during winter. These bats like to perch (sit) while they eat their insect prey.

The Eastern Red Bat

The red bat is often seen in southern Canada, from Alberta to Nova Scotia. It's a slow and graceful flyer. These bats migrate south in groups during autumn and winter. They eat flying insects and sleep in trees and shrubs.

The Silver-Haired Bat

The silver-haired bat looks a bit like the hoary bat. But it has deep chocolate brown fur with white tips on its back and belly. It mostly lives in forests in southern Canada. They usually sleep alone in logs or under tree bark. Sometimes, they are found in grasslands too.

In autumn and winter, groups of silver-haired bats fly south. Some might also go into a deep sleep called torpor instead of migrating. They love to eat small, flying insects, especially moths. They hunt after sunset in forest tops or over water.

Bats of Eastern Canada

The Tricoloured Bat

The Tricoloured bat is the smallest native bat in Canada. It got its name because its fur has three colours: grey at the base, yellow in the middle, and brown tips. You can find it in southern Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. In late summer, they fly to caves to hibernate. They are slow flyers and prefer areas near slow-moving rivers and forests.

The Eastern Small-Footed Bat

The Eastern small-footed bat is one of the smallest bats in North America. It's also one of the rarest in Canada. It lives in forests in southern and central Ontario and southern Quebec. This bat can handle cold weather. It starts hibernating later than other bats, usually in late November or early December. You can spot it by its slow, wiggly flight.

Bats of Western Canada

The California Myotis

The California myotis lives in much of southern British Columbia and along its coast. It hunts insects at night, catching them while flying over lakes, rivers, and forest clearings. Sometimes, these bats are used to help control insect numbers. They hibernate in winter, especially those living in higher places.

The Fringed Myotis

The fringed myotis is a type of bat called a vesper bat. It lives in a small area in Canada, mainly in the Okanagan. These bats grow very fast, with babies reaching adult size in just three weeks! About 70% of their diet is beetles.

Keen's Myotis

Keen's myotis bats are found along the British Columbia coast and inland. They hibernate in winter, sometimes sleeping with other bat species in the same cave. They prefer forests and eat insects. These bats are very active right after sunset and before sunrise.

The Long-Eared Myotis

The long-eared myotis is another vesper bat. Its fur can be dark brown or pale yellow. It sleeps in rocky areas and dead trees in southern British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. They hunt over small water bodies or thick plants, preferring moths and beetles.

The Long-Legged Myotis

The long-legged myotis likes mountains and rough areas. It lives throughout coastal and southern British Columbia and near the Rocky Mountains in southern Alberta. They live in forests near streams and eat soft insects, especially moths.

The Western Big-Eared Bat

The Western big-eared bat has very large, wing-like ears. These bats are social and gather in big groups in southern British Columbia. Females form special groups to raise their babies in spring. They hunt moths in open fields and forest tops. In winter, they hibernate in caves. On cool days, they might go into a short, deep sleep called torpor.

The Western Small-Footed Bat

The Western small-footed bat has a yellow-brown back. It lives in southern British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. It sleeps alone or in small groups, preferring damp caves, mines, or cracks in rocks. It eats insects like moths, beetles, and ants.

The Yuma Myotis

The Yuma myotis looks a lot like the little brown bat. It is mostly found along the coast of southern British Columbia. It eats soft insects while flying low over small bodies of water. It prefers open areas in forests.

Bat Species Needing Protection

A spotted bat, of which there are fewer than 100 in Canada.

Some bat species in Canada are at risk and need our help.

The Pallid Bat

The pallid bat has grey wings, cream or pale yellow-brown fur, tan ears, and bigger eyes than most bats. In Canada, it only lives in the Okanagan Valley in southern British Columbia. It likes dry, open areas with few plants, or fields and dry grasslands. They sleep in cracks in cliffs.

The pallid bat is a threatened species in Canada. This means its population is very small and faces dangers. The main threats are the harsh climate, not enough good places to live, and losing their homes because of new buildings. Pesticides used in fruit farms also harm them, as they eat insects like beetles, grasshoppers, and moths. The pallid bat is protected by the Species at Risk Act (SARA) on federal lands. It is also protected by the British Columbia Wildlife Act.

The Spotted Bat

The spotted bat is a species of special concern in Canada. These large-eared black bats were first found in Canada in 1979. They only live in southern British Columbia. These bats live alone and prefer areas near waterways with hot summers and mild winters. They like to sleep on cliffs. There are fewer than 100 spotted bats in Canada. They are insectivores, but pesticides threaten them. This bat is also protected by the Species at Risk Act and the British Columbia Wildlife Act.

The little brown bat, northern long-eared myotis, and the tricoloured bat are also being considered for protection under the Species at Risk Act.

Where Bats Live in Canada

This table shows where each bat species lives across Canada. A green check mark means the bat lives in that province or territory.

Species		Status		Distribution
Common name	Nomenclature	Canada	Global	BC	AB	SK	MB	ON	QC	NB	PEI	NS	NL	YK	NT	NU
Big brown bat	Eptesicus fuscus
California myotis	Myotis californicus
Eastern small-footed bat	Myotis leibii
Fringed bat	Myotis thysanodes
Hoary bat	Lasiurus cinereus
Keen's myotis	Myotis keenii
Little brown bat	Myotis lucifugus
Long-eared bat	Myotis evotis
Long-legged bat	Myotis volans
Northern long-eared myotis	Myotis septentrionalis
Pallid bat	Antrozous pallidus
Red bat	Lasiurus borealis
Silver-haired bat	Lasionycteris noctivagans
Spotted bat	Euderma maculatum
Tricoloured bat	Perimyotis subflavus
Western big-eared bat	Corynorhinus townsendii
Western small-footed bat	Myotis ciliolabrum
Yuma myotis	Myotis yumanensis
Total species	18			16	9	8	6	8	8	7	1	6	2	2	3	0

Sometimes, other bats are seen in Canada, but they are very rare visitors. For example, an evening bat was seen on Pelee Island, Ontario, in 1911. A big free-tailed bat was also seen in British Columbia. And a hoary bat was once spotted on the island of Newfoundland.

Bat Health and Diseases

A little brown bat with white nose syndrome. The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans covers parts of the face, ears, and wings.

Bats can face health challenges, just like other animals.

White-Nose Syndrome

In 2010, a serious disease called white nose syndrome was found in Canadian bats. It first appeared in Ontario and Quebec. By 2011 and 2012, this disease destroyed a group of 6,000 bats in a New Brunswick cave.

The disease is caused by a fungus called Pseudogymnoascus destructans. This fungus grows on the bat's skin, especially around its nose, ears, and wings. It makes bats wake up too early from their winter sleep (hibernation). When they wake up, they use up all their stored fat before spring arrives. This makes them very weak and they can die.

It is thought that people visiting caves might accidentally spread the fungus on their clothes or gear. Many groups in Canada and the United States are working together to study and stop the spread of this disease. By 2014, about 99% of brown-nosed bats in New Brunswick had died from it.

Rabies in Bats

Bats can also carry rabies, a serious illness. It's rare for humans to get rabies from bats. But a bat bite or scratch, especially from silver-haired bats, can pass the disease to people or pets. Bats with rabies usually can't fly well. They rarely become aggressive. Most cases of rabies in humans from bats happen because people handle bats without care. Since 1925, there have been five human cases in Canada. Less than 2% of bats in Canada have rabies. Most of these are big brown bats.

Other Health Notes

Breathing in dusty bat droppings (manure) can sometimes cause a mild lung infection called histoplasmosis. Also, it's important to know that no special sprays or chemicals are allowed to be used on bats in Canada.

Protecting Canadian Bats

Many people and groups are working to protect bats in Canada. In 2011, the Nature Conservancy of Canada received money to study bat homes. This research helps them plan for future conservation efforts. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and biologists are also keeping a close eye on bat populations.

In eastern Canada, all eight bat species have seen their numbers drop. This is due to several reasons:

• Their roosting (sleeping) places are being destroyed.
• Forests are being cut down.
• Pesticides are being used.
• Too many people are exploring caves where bats hibernate.

It's important to protect these amazing creatures and their homes!