Date: October 25, 2016
Source: USDA Forest Service -
Pacific Southwest Research Station
Perched among the branches and
needles of California's redwood forests are nestled wayfaring hoary bats
(Lasiurus cinereus). A migratory species capable of traveling hundreds of
miles, hoary bats may wander throughout western North America before settling
into California's north coast...to sleep.
While it's not unusual for some
species of bat to migrate or other species to hibernate, it is unusual to find
a species of bat that does both. Hoary bats are one of North America's largest
bats at 5 inches in length and also one of the continent's most distinguished
with its frosted fur for which it takes its name.
Researchers with the U.S. Forest
Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station have documented the first recorded
evidence of hoary bats going into a state of torpor, or hibernation. Published
earlier this month in Scientific Reports and just in time for National Bat Week,
Oct. 24-31, "First Direct Evidence of Long-distance Seasonal Movements and
Hibernation in a Migratory Bat" reports newly discovered behaviors in
hoary bats.
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