Keen’s Long-Eared Bat

Myotis keenii

Appearance

These long-eared bats have two centimetre long ears, eight centimetre long bodies, 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 the Queen Charlotte Islands. In B.C., this animal is found in the Coast and Mountains ecoprovince.

Diet & Behaviour

They feed at night on insects, especially moths, beetles and flies. One bat can eat 30 to 50 per cent of their body weight per night! They nest in caves and large old hollow trees and hibernate over the winter in moist caves and old mine shafts. All bats use echolocation to track their prey; this means that they send out high-pitched squeaks that bounce off any insects flying nearby.

Lifecycle & Threats

These bats give birth to one baby each year in early summer, and they can live 15 to 20 years. They are threatened by logging, which removes some of the large old trees they prefer to nest in.