Several bats species inhabit Silver Falls State Park:
- Big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus
- California myotis, Myotis californicus
- Hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus
- Little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus
- Long-legged myotis, Myotis volans
- Silver-haired bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans
- Townsend's big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii
- Yuma myotis, Myotis yumanensis
All bats in North America have a strict insect-only diet. Not a single blood-sucker in the bunch! (Those cute little vampire bats live only in South America and only drink a tablespoon or so a day anyway and with zero supernatural side effects) Our bats, on the other hand, have nothing to eat during the winter; so they sleep! The females hibernate together in a “hibernacula” leaving the males to fend for themselves in small groups or independently.
Gestation for Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifigus) is 50-60 days. A 6-month gender segregation seems problematic from a reproductive perspective. But bats have an even more impressive adaptation in that they have delayed fertilization. They may say good-bye to the males in the fall, but the females carry the males’ sperm with them as they enter the hibernacula. Atmospheric conditions trigger the fertilization of the egg to ensure the birth of the pups coincide with the emergence of the food source.
