Hoary Bat

(Lasiurus cinereus)
Ohio’s largest bat, weighing
about 15 pennies, and the
most widespread bat spe-
cies in America. Hoary bats
are solitary migratory tree
bats, traveling to warmer
climates when it is cold and
living in the top of trees.

Big Brown Bat

(Eptesicus fuscus)
“Big” is deceptive. They
weigh only about 20
grams—roughly the weight
of five sugar packets. Ohio’s
Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) Listed on the federal most common hibernating
Endangered Species Act since 1966, the Indiana bat is a migra- bat, they’re often the ones
tory bat that is colonial in winter and summer, hibernating in found in barns or buildings.
caves and mines in the winter.

CREATURES OF Eastern Red Bat

(Lasiurus borealis)

THE NIGHT
Migratory tree bats with
a beautiful chestnut
color, they are the most
abundant bat in America.
When the sun goes down, the How are our nocturnal They often hang from trees
bats come out. But a devastat- neighbors doing? Sadly, by one foot, camouflaging
not so well. All 11 spe-
ing disease is putting these perfectly as dead leaves or
cies of bat in Ohio have
nocturnal hunters at risk. — C . B . S . pine cones.
undergone population
declines in the last
few decades. Every species is now protected, listed as endangered, threatened,
or as a species of concern, says Ohio Division of Wildlife biologist Eileen Wyza.
Little brown bats, Indiana bats, tricolored bats, and northern long-eared bats are
struggling the most, Wyza says. Their numbers have dropped a staggering 96 to
99 percent since 2011, when white-nose syndrome was discovered in Ohio.
White-nose syndrome is a disease caused by an invasive fungus that grows
on bats’ noses. The fungus, which is believed to have come from Europe, irritates Tricolored Bat
hibernating bats, causing them to wake up more frequently and depleting their (Perimyotis
energy reserves. Eventually, the bats die from exhaustion and malnutrition. subflavus) Easily mis-
White-nose syndrome continues to kill bats in the state, Wyza says, but the taken for large moths and
Division of Wildlife is monitoring and protecting healthy populations. “The good particularly susceptible
news,” she says, “is we are still seeing all of our bat species in Ohio.” to white-nose syndrome
Despite common misconceptions, not all bats hibernate in caves—half of because of their size. Listed
Ohio’s species are migratory tree bats that travel to warmer temperatures as endangered in the state
within their territorial ranges when it gets cold in Ohio. Their numbers are down, of Ohio and pending federal
too, because of a decline in forested habitats and people’s proclivity to remove endangered status.
dead standing trees. Bats are unique and worth keeping around, Wyza says.
They’re the second most diverse group of mammals in the world, with about
1,400 species living all over the globe, from polar regions to isolated islands.
They also play an essential role in pest control, eating scores of insects and
saving the farm industry up to $3 billion a year, Wyza says. Others feed on nectar,
acting as pollinators, while fruit-eating bats spread seeds.

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY MERLINTUT TLE .ORG