BAT
LITTLE BROWN MYOTIS

Journal by Running Deer

The Little Brown Myotis bat is about three and one half inches long. It's fur is brown, with a glossy sheen on it's back. It weighs less than an once.

Bats are the only mammals that fly. They don't have feathered wings like birds. Instead they have a thin membrane for their wings. These extend from their front legs to their back legs.

The little brown myotis is very common and found in most of North America. It likes to roost in caves, tunnels, hollow trees, and human buildings. It sleeps while hanging upside down from it's toes. If a mother is nursing a baby, she holds it in her wings. The myotis will hibernate in the winter, when flying insects are hard to find.

Like most bats, the little brown myotis eats mostly insects. It has a zigzag flight pattern, as it scoops up insects on the wing. The myotis hunts at night using a sonar system to find it's prey. It sends out super sonic sounds that bounce off of solid objects, such as insects, or trees, or buildings, and then come back to the bat. This is called echolocation.

While the little brown myotis eats only insects, there are several other animals that would like to eat it. This includes, owls, hawks, snakes, raccoons, and cats.

Some people think these flying mammals are dangerous, but I think they are mostly harmless. Like all mammals, they can carry rabies, which is harmful to humans, so I would not touch a bat to be on the safe side. They do not attack humans as some people believe. I love it that they can eat over 600 mosquitoes in only one hour! I'm thinking about putting up a bat house in my back yard to give them a place to roost.
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