Little Forest Bat
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© Australian Museum
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Vespadelus
- Species
- vulturnus
- Family
- Vespertilionidae
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Subclass
- Eutheria
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
© Australian Museum
Introduction
Little Forest Bats breed once a year and produce only one baby in the summer.
Habitat
Little Forest Bats roost in hollows in old trees, buildings, and timber stacks. Up to 50 bats roost together in a colony. Some bats have been seen sharing a nest with possums.
Distribution
Feeding and diet
Little Forest Bats hunt small insects that fly through forests. They are agile fliers, able to manoeuvre as they move through the forest after their prey. They usually eat their prey as they fly. They will land on trees to eat if they catch large prey.
Life history cycle
Little Forest Bats breed once a year and produce only one baby in the summer. Females carry their baby when they go out to hunt at night. When the babies are too big to be carried, but too young to fly, their mothers leave them in the roost, returning during the night to feed them.
Conservation status
Little Forest Bats are vulnerable to loss of roost sites in tree hollows and loss of feeding grounds by forestry activities, clearing for agriculture and housing.
© Australian Museum
