Critter Factbook

Animals · Land mammals

Bats: where they live, what they eat, whether they hibernate, and more

Each answer below is one line in our words, with the scope the source was writing about and the source’s own sentence further down.

Quick answers

QuestionAnswerScopeSourceChecked
Where they live In caves, including warm thermal caves, and in bridges, buildings and other structures. Bats of Yellowstone National Park NPS, Yellowstone National Park
What they eat Insects. Every bat species recorded in Yellowstone eats insects. Bats of Yellowstone National Park NPS, Yellowstone National Park
How much they eat About half their body weight in insects a night; nursing females have been known to eat up to 110 percent of their body weight. Little brown bat, parks of the Northeast Temperate Network NPS, Northeast Temperate Network
Do they hibernate? Yes. Most western bat species move a short distance from their summer roosts to winter hibernation sites. Western bats, Yellowstone National Park NPS, Yellowstone National Park
Babies Most Yellowstone bats come out of hibernation in mid-April, give birth in mid-June and have one pup a year. Most bats of the Greater Yellowstone area NPS, Yellowstone National Park
What eats bats Owls, falcons, hawks, snakes and raccoons, mostly as opportunists. Bats of Yellowstone National Park NPS, Yellowstone National Park
How long they live Many live 10 to 30 years. Bats of Yellowstone National Park NPS, Yellowstone National Park

In the sources’ own words

Where they live

“They roost in natural habitats, including thermally heated caves, as well as in bridges, buildings, and other human structures…”

National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats

Scope: Bats of Yellowstone National Park

What they eat

“All bat species that have been documented in Yellowstone National Park are all insectivores…”

National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats

Scope: Bats of Yellowstone National Park

How much they eat

“Everyone agrees bats have voracious appetites, consuming half their body weight in insects a night.”

“Nursing females have been known to eat up to 110% of their body weight.”

National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network, NETN Species Spotlight: Little Brown Bat

Scope: Little brown bat, parks of the Northeast Temperate Network

Do they hibernate?

“Most western bat species migrate short distances from their summer roosts to their winter hibernating locations.”

National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats

Scope: Western bats, Yellowstone National Park

Babies

“…hibernation ends around mid-April and the females give birth in mid-June. Most give birth to one pup a year…”

National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats

Scope: Most bats of the Greater Yellowstone area

What eats bats

“Predators are generally opportunistic and include owls, falcons, hawks, snakes, and raccoons.”

National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats

Scope: Bats of Yellowstone National Park

How long they live

“…many bats live 10–30 years…”

National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats

Scope: Bats of Yellowstone National Park

What these sources do not say

  • Fruit bats and vampire bats. Both pages cover bats in the United States, which eat insects.
  • Lifespans for single species. Yellowstone gives one range for its bats as a group.

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