The mere sight of bats evokes disgust and even fear in many. Thanks to various books and films, these animals have become a symbol of evil spirits and the other world. And yet almost no one knows that bats eat insects. Moths, mosquitoes, leaf rollers, cutworms, moths - these and many other pests make up the diet of winged hunters.
Thus, even small colonies of bats destroy numerous insects that harm agricultural crops. For example, just one bat can catch and eat about 150-200 insects per night.
Not only about the nutrition, but also about the life of bats, little is known to the average person. Where they live, how bats winter, and whether they winter here or fly south - more on that later.
Do they fly to warmer climes or stay?
Every autumn, following the passing warmth, not only heat-loving birds fly away, but also some species of bats. Unlike birds, bats do not fly to Africa, but much closer - to Turkey, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Crimea.
But not all species are disappearing. The vast majority of species of bats - bats, long-eared bats, noctules and others - remain until spring. Colonies of bats overwinter in the same place where they hunted in the summer.
Flight of winged predators
Since in winter there are no insects that constitute the main diet of bats, they hibernate. This state of the animals lasts for 6-8 months. Most bats do not emerge from deep suspended animation for up to six months.
On a note . During wakefulness, the heart of bats beats at a speed of 420 beats/min, the body temperature is about 38-40°C, and the number of breaths is 95-96. The heart of an animal that has fallen into suspended animation begins to beat much less often - 15-17 beats per minute, the number of breaths drops to 2-4 times per minute, and the body temperature drops to 1-2 degrees.
Features of behavior
Voles are quite active living creatures, as their metabolic process is quite fast. They need to eat quite often, as they use up their energy quite quickly. Mice have a hard time withstanding hunger, and even more so lack of water. Without food and water, a vole mouse can live no more than 1 week.
Despite such facts, the vole mouse adapts quite quickly to new conditions. Rodents move in certain ways, and they mark their territory with urine. They show their main activity when it gets dark. Under certain conditions, rodents become more active during the day.
Mice are quite cautious living creatures. They react to the slightest sound or rustle, quickly running away to their shelter. This indicates that rodents have many natural enemies and danger lurks at every turn.
The pest tries to constantly stay as close to its hole as possible, moving away from it only a few meters. As a rule, rodents move in tall grass, under bushes or in the shade. Each individual has its own territory marked. They prefer to live in flocks, controlled by dominant males and females.
Interesting to know! The lifespan of individuals in natural conditions is no more than 1 year, although scientists believe that mice can live up to 7 years. The thing is that mice have many natural enemies. In artificial conditions, the average age of rodents is about 3 years.
Optimal wintering sites
In order for a bat to survive in winter, it needs reliable shelter. In central Russia, places with the necessary environment for animals of this type are:
- attics;
- hollows of old trees;
- log cabins of deep abandoned dry wells;
- old adits, mines;
- basements;
- large caves, branched grottoes;
- dungeons and other places where people do not go.
Just as bats live in colonies, they also winter as a whole family, which can number from 100 to 500 or even more individuals. There are not so many places where they can all hibernate together, so bats remember not only the wintering site itself, but also the area on which it is located. If the colony was able to winter safely, it remains to live here for a long time.
Trampling and redistributing snow
In order for rodents to get close to such tasty plants - bulbs planted in flower beds and garden beds, bushes and trees - they must make their way through the snow and freely dig a hole or passage. The simplest measure available in winter - trampling down snow - creates a barrier for rodents that is sufficient for effective protection.
They trample down the snow, moving from the perimeter of the tree trunk circles to the trunk, in flower beds - between the plants, trying not to touch them.
Snow is always distributed so that the most vulnerable plants are securely covered, and bare soil is protected from weathering and freezing. In addition, you need to add snow so that in the spring it effectively moistens the soil.
By finishing each snow distribution by compacting it near rodent-attracting plants, you reduce the risk of rodent problems.
Where can you find them?
Bats hibernate where there are the necessary conditions for this:
- High humidity - 80% or more.
- The required stable temperature is not lower/higher than +6...8 °C.
- Calm. While the animals are sleeping, nothing should disturb them - due to the forced awakening and flight, the bat, which has again fallen into suspended animation, may not survive until spring.
- No drafts.
But this does not mean at all that bats can be found in every hollow, old well, and basement. They mostly choose places where there are no people.
When to release?
If the bat survives until spring, then with the onset of the first consistently warm nights (at air temperatures above zero), the animal can be released. Usually this is the end of March - beginning of April. Also at this time, the first insects appear, and the animal will have something to eat. It should be released after sunset in a park area or outside the city, planted on a hand or on a tree trunk. First give the animal some water and, if there is food left, feed it.
If the bat did not survive until spring, but died during the winter, be sure to give us the frozen corpse. Cadaveric material is necessary for studying the anatomy, physiology and infections of chiropterans.
Chiropterans are the least studied mammals in Ukraine and Russia, so we will be glad to send you letters and photographs about the animals found (date, country, locality, location and features of the find).
Can they winter near people?
Humans, invading the habitat of wild animals, force them to leave their usual places. In search of a new place to live, bats begin to colonize city structures and buildings.
You can see bats in winter in the seams and cracks of multi-story buildings, in attics, and in vegetable stores, where conditions are most suitable for suspended animation. Single individuals can climb under the paneling on a balcony, into an air conditioner gap, or into an insulated basement.
Wintering
Such places are not always safe for animals: they can become prey for cats and dogs. Bats can also be harmed by people - trying to find a new place to hibernate, a frightened animal can die in the cold.
Food at different times of the year
The field mouse eats a variety of foods, the choice of which depends on the season.
| Winter | The rodent settles closer to living quarters and grain folds. It feeds on grain, straw, and root crops stored by humans. |
| Spring and summer | At this time of year, the vole rushes to the fields, where it can feed on the roots of crops. At the same time, it causes enormous damage to crop yields and farming. It also feeds on insects and plant stems. |
| Autumn | The best season for food. At this time, the harvest takes place; all the fruits in the gardens are ripe. The vole feeds on grain, seeds, and root crops. |
When do bats hibernate?
Even in the fall, bats begin preparing for hibernation: they intensively gain subcutaneous fat by eating insect pests. As soon as the temperature drops and air humidity rises, bats look for shelter to hibernate. Depending on the type of animals, they can overwinter as a whole colony, or individually, such as northern leatherbacks and long-eared bats.
The vital activity of bats quickly decreases and then stops completely. They sleep upside down, clinging to any support with their paws. Covered with large wings, the animal appears dead: it does not move, is cold to the touch and breathes very rarely, sometimes even once every 10-15 minutes - the lower the temperature, the less often the animal breathes.
By the way, the duration of bats’ sleep also depends on the ambient temperature, so in colder areas with long winters, the suspended animation of representatives of this species can last up to 8 months, while in the south of the country bats fall asleep much later and wake up after 2.5-3 months.
If you pick up a sleeping bat, you might think that it is not alive - its body is so cold and even numb, but after a few minutes the bat warms up from the warmth and wakes up.
On a note! Scientists conducted an experiment and found that after the bat was awakened and released, it tries to return to the place where it slept before. Moreover, the matter concerns not just a specific attic or basement, but also the place from where she was taken.
Field mouse: description
A small rodent can be called differently: field mouse, meadow mouse, simply vole, small mouse, striped mouse. This animal is familiar to many people, since the lives of humans and rodents are often intertwined. With the onset of real winter cold, this pest moves closer to humans, appearing in barns, warehouses, sheds and other outbuildings, as well as in human homes. They often settle in dachas, gardens or personal plots.
It is not difficult to distinguish a field mouse from other rodents by a number of characteristic features. For example:
- It grows in length up to 12 cm, no more, while the average size of a rodent is about 10 cm. The tail of the animal is thin and makes up about 70% of the length of its body.
- The body shape is somewhat oblong with elongated hind feet. When the mouse moves, they protrude forward.
- The muzzle is elongated, with an oblong nose, and the ears are small but round.
Judging by its appearance, it is an attractive and harmless animal. Of particular interest is the mouse's red nose. The body structure of a mouse differs little from the body structure of many species of rodents.
The body is covered with short hair, which is characterized by uneven coloring, while the abdomen is always lighter compared to the rest of the body. The vole can be easily distinguished from other species of rodents by the characteristic black stripe located along the back. The color of the coat may vary depending on living conditions. In summer, the vole has a darker color, but with the arrival of winter, the color changes to lighter. In the images below you can see for yourself how the vole mouse differs from other rodents.
Interesting fact! Rodent teeth are unique in that they grow throughout life. This is especially true for a pair of long incisors, which appear already in the second month of life and grow by 1.5 mm daily. To prevent its teeth from growing excessively, the animal needs to constantly gnaw on something so that they wear down. At the same time, mice gnaw even those objects that have no nutritional value.
The average weight of a vole mouse is no more than 20 grams, although larger individuals are found, weighing up to 30 grams.
How do you tolerate frost?
The time of suspended animation is the most difficult and dangerous period in the life of bats. Often, out of prejudice and an unreasonable sense of fear, people, having discovered bats on their estate, balcony, or attic, destroy these “winter apartments.” It is difficult for half-asleep animals driven outside to find such a shelter. And they most often die in the cold.
People often cause the death of bats by accident, for example, when exploring caves, dungeons, or old dilapidated buildings.
Due to such interventions, the bat population has decreased significantly, but the number of insect pests has begun to increase. The life of bats is currently protected by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Where should I put the animal?
You can use cardboard box
from under shoes, a thick cotton bag
or
sock
. In the box, hang a piece of fabric on the edge, which the animal can cling to and hang upside down. If the box is cardboard, then one or two ventilation holes with a diameter of 1 cm are enough (you can punch them with a ballpoint pen). Close the lid of the box and seal it with a piece of tape. It often happens that the animal lifts the lid and climbs out. The bag or sock should be tied with an elastic band.
Source
Lifestyle and habitat
In the culture and myths of many peoples, such animals usually appear as sinister negative characters. The ancients associated them not only with vampires, but also with other evil spirits: werewolves, sorcerers, witches.
These creatures personified darkness and death, but that is why the totem animal bat serves as a completely opposite symbol - rebirth: the rejection of everything that has become obsolete, the death of old habits and concepts, and therefore the entry into a new life.
If we list the areas of the planet where such representatives of the fauna settled, we should mention almost all of them, skipping only the edges of eternal snow and ice, as well as some islands surrounded by the ocean, since these flyers simply could not get there.
Zoologists believe that a bat can take root almost anywhere, in any climate and in a wide variety of conditions. The only thing she really needs is a quiet shelter where she can hide from the hated sunlight during the day.
Such creatures also do not tolerate noise and fuss, but even in large cities they can take a liking to some little-visited attic, even in a residential building. Therefore, they can rightfully be presented as pets. The bat has no fear of humans.
But some of the people are afraid of such guests, it’s just prejudice. However, this does not prevent exotic lovers from keeping these interesting creatures as pets.
In the wild, for example, in some spacious, mysterious cave, colonies of these animals can number in the tens of thousands of members, and even millions of individuals. In such a shelter they rest during the day, attaching their tenacious claws to the ledges, hanging upside down like ripe fruit.
But despite numerous aggregations and associations into communities, bats cannot be called social animals. Their social urges do not manifest themselves in any way. They communicate little with their relatives. They just sleep together during the day, that's all. And they hunt alone at night.
If bats live in regions with unfavorable climate, in winter they often go in search of nicer and warmer places. And such journeys sometimes take place thousands of kilometers away. But sometimes these creatures prefer to simply go into normal hibernation.
Reproduction and lifespan
It is difficult for scientists to find out in detail how exactly the courtship and subsequent mating of these creatures occurs; they prefer to lead a very secretive lifestyle.
Some bats can feed on flower nectar
But at certain periods, very interesting sounds can be heard near the habitats of bats. These are the courtship of gentlemen for their ladies and their calls for love.
Bats inhabiting regions with favorable conditions and a warm climate are ready for mating rituals at any time and are able to give birth to offspring twice a year. In areas with harsh weather conditions, mating of these winged mammals occurs immediately before hibernation.
And this reveals another feature of these animals. A bat, or rather a female of this suborder, is not able to become pregnant immediately, but some time after contact with a partner.
After all, according to nature’s plan, her eggs will be fertilized only after spring awakening. Until this moment, the male’s sperm remains, as it were, in her body in reserve.
The duration of gestation is also impossible to say with precision, because the timing turns out to be too different. And they depend not only on the species, but also on environmental conditions, in particular temperature.
But when the time comes, two or three cubs are born. At first they live in the tail pouch. And a week later they get out of there, but continue to live, feeding on mother’s milk.
In this way, the babies gradually gain strength, and after a month they are already able to feed on their own.
It is difficult to answer the question: what is the lifespan of these creatures, because it depends on the species to which these bats belong. On average it is 5 years, but can be 20 or more years.
It is interesting that when kept at home, such animals do not live longer, as is observed in most living creatures, but, on the contrary, shorter. This is due to the inability to behave with the desired activity and in accordance with natural cycles. And this has an extremely detrimental effect on their bodies.
Who are they, creatures of evil or faithful helpers?
Bats (lat. Microchiroptera) belong to the order Chiroptera of the cohort of placental mammals. These are the only animals in the world capable of prolonged flight.
This is a very extensive order in terms of species, and the sizes of its representatives range from 3 to 50 cm in length, and from 5 to 80 cm in wingspan. But we will consider as a sample not large tropical specimens, but small species inhabiting our European regions, the dimensions of which usually do not exceed the size of a sparrow or tit.
These flyers can live 5-10 years and even longer. Zoologists claim that some bats under scientific supervision lived up to 20-25 years, and this is by no means fiction.
Bats cannot be confused with any other living creature on planet Earth. They have a unique appearance that most may find repulsive and sinister.
The thin limbs of bats resemble a bone frame on which a leather membrane is stretched, forming wings. These creatures have very thick fluffy fur on the body, usually lighter in the front.
The head and muzzle have a truly bizarre structure, with which, in addition to the wings, all the fables about the otherworldly nature of these creatures in the old days were usually associated. And in some ways we can understand both our ancestors and modern, more mannered representatives of the fair sex, who are frightened by just the sight of these funny creatures on TV screens.
The muzzle resembles a pig's snout with large ears, like that devil from the well-known Soviet film adaptation of “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” performed by G. Millyar. And two fangs protruding from the upper jaw can cause even greater fear and mistrust.
It must be said that, despite very poor eyesight, these creatures are quite nimble and perfectly oriented in space during flight. In this they are helped by echolocation, that is, the ability to catch the reflection of ultrasonic pulses from surrounding objects.
These animals feed mainly on insects, which they catch in flight with extraordinary dexterity. Tropical bats also eat fruit, and among them are vampire bloodsuckers. However, let's return to our insectivorous night flyers.
Bats are more useful animals for humans. Harm on their part may only consist of the transmission of some dangerous diseases, but this, again, applies to a greater extent to tropical species.
The benefits of bats are especially appreciated in rural areas, where overnight a flock of these creatures can greatly help a farmer who is always suffering from harmful insects.
Also, these creepy-faced flyers serve as plant pollinators, carrying plant pollen on themselves and distributing it over a wide area.
