A group of Little Brown Bats hibernating in a cave in BC. In the winter, bats enter torpor to conserve energy, waking up periodically to hydrate, warm up and re-position themselves.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ BC Community Bat Program, photo by USFWS.

The Okanagan Valley is home to more species of bats than anywhere else in Canada, with 14 species in total relying on the diverse natural landscape to survive.

Bats are a crucial part of the Okanagan’s ecosystem. They are both useful pest controllers and important pollinators, Megan Olson, North Okanagan Regional Coordinator of the BC Community Bat Program, told iNFOnews.ca.

“The only bat species we have in the province are insectivores,” Olson said. “They eat flying insects, moths, mosquitoes… They can save farmers and agriculture money from not having to use pesticides because they'll come in and they'll eat the insects that are harming the crops.”

Bats also carry important nutrients in their droppings as they travel back and forth across the territory, Olson said. The critters transport nutrients from a wetland complex upland to the forests where they are roosting, enriching the soil with a natural fertilizer.

On a global scale, bats play a major role in pollinating the crops that many of us enjoy, such as bananas, cocoa, and tequila, by eating fruit and passing along pollen.

However, despite their usefulness, bats often get a bad rap because of some popular misconceptions. 

“There's the misconception that bats are just flying rats or flying mice. They're not rodents,” Olson said. “They're their own specific branch of mammal (and) they're the only mammal that can fly.”

The phrase “blind as a bat” also propels a common mistake. In reality, bats have fine eyesight and navigate with precision during the night with echolocation. Many also believe that all bats are infested with rabies, which is also untrue.

“Less than one per cent of bats in the wild are known to carry rabies,” Olson said. “That being said, it's still really important to never touch a bat. Not only are they a wild animal, but you don't know what one per cent of the bats is carrying rabies.”

The Okanagan boasts a range of habitats for multiple species to live in, from lakes and streams, to forests, sagebrush, and cliffs.

Local species include the black-and-white spotted bat, which is the only bat whose echolocation calls can be heard by humans and the distinct Townsend’s big-eared bat, which has ears that are half the size of its body, which can also be found roosting in local mines, caves, and large abandoned buildings.

Near Osoyoos, pallid bats can also be seen hunting scorpions and arachnids, while little brown bats are commonly seen throughout the region at night or roosting in buildings, however they are also the species most at risk from the often fatal white-nose syndrome.

According to Olson, an estimated six million bats have been killed by white-nose syndrome in North America. So far, the syndrome is only present in Eastern Canada, although it appears to be making its way across the country to British Columbia.

The syndrome causes a white fungus to grow around the bat’s faces and wings while they hibernate, which irritates and wakes them up. The bats then lose valuable fat and energy which cannot be replenished in the middle of winter without insects to feed on. 

“One way people can get involved is if they come across any dead bats or any weird bat behaviour specifically in the winter, to report it,” Olson said. “Just knowing if there are bats, either dead or in the area, is really important for us to help monitor for white-nose syndrome.”

Only two species, the hoary bat and silver-haired bat, migrate south in the fall and return to the province in the spring. The rest stay local, often bundling together in caves, rock crevices, abandoned mines, mature trees and attics. The hibernating bats enter a state of torpor in which their activity levels and metabolism slow down.

“Bats reduce their heartbeat by tenfold and slow their breathing to one breath per hour. Their body temperature can drop to just above freezing in torpor," Olson said in a press release. "Bats wake up periodically for a quick drink or to warm up by burning fat or moving to a warmer roost. There was a record of a bat flying in the south Okanagan in -14 C.”

Despite their natural resilience, most bat species in the province are considered at risk or in danger of going extinct.

The BC Community Bat Program is working to reverse this by conserving and gathering information about bats through a network of regions in BC. In the new year, the North Okanagan region will be gathering an action team of volunteers to work on bat conservation.

Olson encourages locals to report bat sightings so that the organization can monitor potential habitats. Residents can also encourage and attract bat activity by planting native flowers in their gardens, especially those with flowers that stay open at night and attract bugs.

To help protect bats, Olson recommends owners to keep their cats shut in at night and to turn off outdoor lighting which can disrupt the bat's hunting. While not all species will use bat boxes, if installed correctly and in the right location, there is a chance that boxes can provide roosting locations for local bats. 

Bats are currently protected under the BC Wildlife Act, which safeguards them from being harassed, harmed or killed, Olson said. 

“If they're in your house or like they're roosting in your attic and you don't want them there, you can't call in a pest control person or an exterminator to just fumigate them or anything. They are wildlife. So you have to treat them as such,” Olson said.

Anyone who observes winter bat activity or finds an injured or dead bat, is asked to report it to the North Okanagan Community Bat Program, at northokanaganbats@gmail.com, by calling 1-855-922-2287 (ext. 13) or on the website here.

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