Today we admitted not 1, but 2 Hoary Bats, a species we don’t see that often at WRC. The first admit (top photo) was an adult male, who was found in someone’s garden. He was weak and dehydrated upon admit. The 2nd was actually an orphaned baby, who was also a bit dehydrated. It was really neat to see a full grown adult and then a new baby, all in the same day!

Hoary Bats are the largest bat species in Minnesota, averaging 5 to 5.7 inches long with a 15.7 inch wingspan and a weight of 26 g. The bat normally roosts alone on trees hidden among foilage, but on occasion has been seen in caves with other bats.  It prefers woodlands,  mainly coniferous forests, but hunts over open areas or lakes. It hunts alone and its main food source is moths, it will also eat dragonflies.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 28th, 2010 at 9:41 pm and is filed under Medical News, Vet Leslie's Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.