Quick answers
| Question | Answer | Scope | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Where each number comes from
The answers above come from National Park Service pages that describe different bats. The Yellowstone page writes about the bats of that park as a group, and every answer except the appetite line comes from it. The appetite line comes from a page on the little brown bat in the parks of the Northeast Temperate Network. That page gives half their body weight in insects a night for bats in general; the 110 percent figure is only for nursing females, so it is not a second estimate of the same thing. The 10 to 30 year lifespan is Yellowstone's range for many of its bats, not a figure for a single species. Neither page gives a competing number for the same question. If you need a figure, check the Scope line on each answer and use the one whose park and species match your bat.
In the sources’ own words
Where they live
National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats“They roost in natural habitats, including thermally heated caves, as well as in bridges, buildings, and other human structures…”
Scope: Bats of Yellowstone National Park
What they eat
National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats“All bat species that have been documented in Yellowstone National Park are all insectivores…”
Scope: Bats of Yellowstone National Park
How much they eat
National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network, NETN Species Spotlight: Little Brown Bat“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.”
Scope: Little brown bat, parks of the Northeast Temperate Network
Do they hibernate?
National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats“Most western bat species migrate short distances from their summer roosts to their winter hibernating locations.”
Scope: Western bats, Yellowstone National Park
Babies
National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats“…hibernation ends around mid-April and the females give birth in mid-June. Most give birth to one pup a year…”
Scope: Most bats of the Greater Yellowstone area
What eats bats
National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats“Predators are generally opportunistic and include owls, falcons, hawks, snakes, and raccoons.”
Scope: Bats of Yellowstone National Park
How long they live
National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bats“…many bats live 10–30 years…”
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.