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Indiana Bat

Myotis sodalis

Background

Indiana bats are a small, insect-eating bats that live in North America. In the winter, they hibernate in caves and abandoned mines, and in the summer they roost under loose bark or in tree hollows. They are currently listed as an endangered species in the United States.

Photo by Ryan Hagerty, USFWS
Photo by Ryan Hagerty, USFWS

Current Threats

  • White-nose syndrome
  • Colony disturbance & harassment
  • Pesticide poisoning
  • Loss of summer roosting habitat
  • Climate change

 

How You Can Help

  • Plant trees used by Indiana bats
  • Reduce/eliminate pesticide use
  • Spread the word about Bat Week!
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Fun Facts

The Covia Holdings Corporation Magazine Mine, a closed underground mine in Illinois, is home to nearly 70,000 Indiana bats! Female Indiana bats usually give birth to only one pup each year.

Female Indiana bats usually give birth to only one pup each year.

Indiana bats are tiny, measuring just a few inches long and weighing about the same as just 3 pennies.

Faces of Bat Week

Townsend's big-eared bat

Townsend's big-eared bats are a charismatic species with marvelously large ears and prominent, bilateral nose lumps.

Florida bonneted bat

The Florida bonneted bat is found nowhere in the world but South Florida.

Indiana bat

Indiana bats are a small insect-eating bats that live in North America.

Northern long-eared bat

The northern long-eared bat is a species of bat native to North America. There are no recognized subspecies.

Mexican long-nosed bat

The Mexican long-nosed bat is federally endangered and relies on nectar from agave to make long migrations through Mexico and the southwest United States.