Little Brown Bat

Little Brown Bat.

Name

  • Common name: Little Brown Bat
  • Scientific name: Myotis lucifugus
  • Order: Chiroptera
  • Family: Verspertilionidae

Also known as

Little Brown Myotis

Viewing opportunities

  • The best place to see bats is at their roost when they first leave for feeding at night. Quietly stand by a roost about ½ hour after sunset to watch them fly out.
  • At night, walk along the water’s edge where the bats will be feeding on insects and drinking water.
  • Normally bats don’t fly about during the day, but you may spot them spreading their wings at roost entrances to cool down in the heat.

Report your bat sightings

The Government of Yukon is encouraging Yukoners to report any bat colonies in their homes, buildings or bat houses.

Go to BatWatch.ca or email batwatch@yukon.ca to describe your bat observations and where they are living.

This information will help us track the number of active bat colonies in the Yukon, and learn more about where bats like to live.

Description

  • A small bat with dark brown fur.
  • Dark leathery wings, pointed ears, prominent snout and small beady eyes.

Fast facts:

  • Length: 25 cm wingspan
  • Weight: 8 g
  • Lifespan: 30 years
  • Habitat: Boreal Forest
  • Predators: Owls

Conservation status

What is conservation status?

  • Yukon: S3B (Vulnerable)
  • Global: G3 (Vulnerable)

Behaviour

Little Brown Bats are nocturnal and only leave the roost to feed at night. At the height of summer this gives them only 1 to 2 hours a night to hunt insects. During summer, females roost in colonies of up to several hundred bats and give birth to a single pup. Males roost alone or in small separate groups. In the fall, Little Brown Bats leave their summer range and migrate to hibernation sites. The hibernation locations for Little Brown Bats in the Yukon are unknown. Bats return in the spring to the same roost year after year.

Diet

Flying insects such as mosquitoes.

Distribution

Little Brown Bat distribution map.

Sights and sounds

Scat.
Bat scat.

Bats and people

Reports