The tri-colored bat is small, weighing only 6-8 grams, and lives in eastern North America. They live in forests in the summer and caves or abandoned buildings in winter. Females give birth to twins that make up half their mother's weight. The biggest threat is white nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has dramatically reduced bat populations during hibernation. Protecting tri-colored bats is important because they eat insect pests.
2. • One of the most
notable things about
these bats is their
size—they weigh only
6-8 grams and have
a wingspan of only
21-26 centimeters.
• Males and females
differ in size, and the
females are larger.
• Pictured here is a
young tri-colored bat.
• (Photo Credit: S.
Dobbyn)
physical characteristics
3. • Tri-colored bats
can be found
living on the
Eastern coasts of
Canada, the
United States,
and Mexico.
• There are
between 10,000
and 1,000,000 of
these bats in the
world.
• (Photo Credit:
www.discoverlife.
org)
Habitat
4. • The tri-colored bat
lives mostly in caves,
deep rock crevices,
and large abandoned
buildings, especially
during hibernation.
• Recent research into
the species shows that
the bats make their
summer homes in
forests.
• (Photo Credit:
www.pbase.com)
Habitat
5. • When the female
Tri-Colored Bats
are pregnant, they
live together in
maternal colonies.
• The males live on
their own.
• (Photo Credit:
www.projectnoah.or
g)
Maternal colonies
6. • When newborn tri-
colored bats are
born, they are born
in sets of two.
• The two babies
together make up
50% of their
mother’s total
body weight.
• (Photo Credit:
pbase.com)
newborns
7. • Newborn tri-colored bats use
yipping sounds to
communicate with their
mother, and their mother has
a sensitive enough ear to
only respond to her own
offsprings’ calls.
• Throughout their lives, these
bats primarily use aural
forms of communication,
particularly echolocation.
• (Photo Credit:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-
4pezUysIAj8/T5MMUy6dHUI/
AAAAAAAAAEw/RsFi0jmk4iM/
s1600/b22.bmp)
communication
8. • Tri-colored bats
hibernate for as
long as 9 months
annually.
• Highest mortality
rate is during
hibernation as a
result of not
building a big
enough fat store.
• (Photo Credit:
http://www.nps.gov
/ruca/naturescienc
e/images/bat.JPG)
hibernation
9. • Currently, the
biggest threat to
the Tri-Colored Bat
is White Nose
Syndrome, a fungal
disease that
attacks the bats
while they are
hibernating. It has
decreased the
number of these
bats dramatically.
• (Photo Credit:
scienceblogs.com)
threats
10. • It is important
that we protect
the tri-colored
bat because of
the insect
species that
they eat. We
depend on
them more
than we
realize!
• (Photo Credit:
www.dec.ny.go
v)
Why protect the tri-colored bat?
