Bats of British Columbia
From the Royal BC Museum
Read about the general biology and species accounts of 15 species of bats in BC. New and updated since the first edition (1993).
Find bat specimens in the Natural History collection at the Royal BC Museum.
Outside Links
Learn more about bats in Canada and the work of the Wildlife Conservation Society to protect bats. Read Dr. Cori Lausen’s blog article or listen to her audio interview about how bats navigate through the night to find insect prey.
Learn how you can get involved in bat conservation and research in your community. Download instructions on how to build a bat box, and other ideas on creating bat-friendly communities.
Read about the nine species of bats found on Vancouver Island, including what you should do if you find a bat or come in contact with one.
Learn about the habits, food, habitat, reproduction and ecological relationships of bats in BC using the University of British Columbia’s electronic atlas. Find more information about each species by typing into the search box.
Look at the spread map of white-nose syndrome in Canada and the United States. White-nose syndrome is a deadly fungal disease that affects bats in hibernation, wiping out bat populations in many parts of North America.
Watch this video on the new bio-cleaning station at Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park near Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island. The station can be used by visitors to prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome.
Read CBC’s article on how biologists are using probiotics to stop the spread of white-nose syndrome in BC.
Listen to the calls of various bats from Yellowstone National Park. The recordings were slowed to 1/10th of the regular speed so that they could be heard by the human ear. In general, most bats emit calls at a high frequency (above 20 kilohertz), which is beyond the range of hearing for humans (20 hertz to 20 kilohertz).
Watch David Attenborough witness a magical moment: the Underwood’s long-tongued bat feeding on a seven-hour flower. Bats are keystone species that serve as pollinators in many tropical ecosystems.