 Bats
of Indiana
Rafinesque's
Big-eared Bat
Big-eared bat flying low near a creek
(drawing by CES Media Club)
| Scientific
Name: Corynorhinus
rafinesquii Description:
The
big-eared bat is gray-brown. It has long
ears and weighs about 8-14 grams. It has
long toe hairs.
Population:
This
bat is considered threatened. It is not
common in most of its range.
Food: They use
echolocation (high-pitched sounds) to
locate the insects they eat. They forage
for food in the later part of the
evening.
Range:
The range of
the Rafinesque's Big-eared bat is mostly
found in the eastern part of the United
States. This includes the southern half
of Indiana.
Reproduction:
These
bats mate in the fall of the year. One
baby is born each year. This happens in
late May or early June. They have
maternity colonies in old buildings and
can be found in well lighted places. They
have a lifespan of ten years in the wild.
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Not much is really known about these bats. Their
numbers
have declined dramatically over the years. They
have
been listed as threatened since 1977.
Rafinesque's Big-eared Bat
(c) Merlin D.
Tuttle, Bat Conservation International
The big-eared bat
uses its ears to alert others that
intruders are coming. They do this by waving
their ears
back and forth. They have been seen hanging in
plain sight.
These bats have been
known to hibernate in caves. They
roost in hollow trees, under bridges, and they
become active
when it is completely dark to find food.
Their enemies
include opossums, raccoons, cats, and snakes.
The Big-eared bats hibernate in the wintertime.
When they
hibernate they fold their ears in to reserve
their body moisture.
A Big-eared bat using
echolocation to find his prey
(drawing by CES Media Club)
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References/Resources
Drawings
of Big-eared bat by
Cannelton Elementary Media Club
Photograph
of the Big-eared bat
(c) Merlin D. Tuttle
Bat Conservation International
All other photographs belong to
CES Media Club
BOOKS:
Bats
of the United States
by
Michael J. Harvey, J. Scott Altenbach,
and Troy L. Best, Arkansas Game
& Fish Commission and the U. S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, copyright 1999
Those
Amazing Bats by
Cheryl Mays Halton
Dillon Press, New York copyright 1991
WEBSITES:
Kentucky
Bat Working Group
http://www.biology.eku.edu/bats.htm
Bat Conservation International
http://www.batcon.org
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Comments? Questions?
You can e-mail us at:
jgoble@cannelton.k12.in.us
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