Keen’s long-eared bat - Sierra Club BC
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Keen’s long-eared bat

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Keen's long-eared bat

Myotis keenii 

Appearance

These long-eared bats have two-centimetre-long ears and eight-centimetre-long bodies. They have dark brown upper fur and wings, a light brown belly and some spots on their shoulders.

Range & Habitat

They are found from southeast Alaska to the Olympic Peninsula, but most of them live on Haida Gwaii.

Reciprocal Relationships

These bats forage near and in large old-growth coastal western hemlock forests. They feed on insects at night, especially moths, beetles and flies. One bat can eat 30 to 50 per cent of their body weight per night! These bats also use echolocation to track their prey. This means that they send out high-pitched squeaks that bounce off any insects flying nearby. 
 
They nest in caves and large old hollow trees and hibernate over the winter in moist caves and old mine shafts. These bats give birth to one baby each year in early summer, and they can live 15 to 20 years.  
 
This species is put at risk by old-growth logging, due to the reduction in viable foraging habitat. We still have very little information about the life history and population of the Keen’s long-eared bat. Because of this, it is also difficult to protect the species, as you can see through the red-list status below. We have provincially protected this species under the Wildlife Act, and part of its range is protected in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve.

Status 

COSEWIC: Special Concern (redisgnated as data deficient) 
CDC: Red 

More Information

If you belong to a First Nation with a story or piece of information not represented here and you would like to share more about this species, please email us at education@sierraclub.bc.ca

Photo Credit

Canva

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