Red Bats are medium-sized bats (12 in wingspan) with a reddish-orange coat. The males are usually redder than the females who have white tips on their fur. Red Bats are solitary and roost well hidden in the thick foliage of forest trees. They often hunt for food around lights and particularly enjoy moths and beetles. Mothers have up to 4 pups, an unusually large litter size for bats.
Eastern and Western Red Bats look very similar and are hard to tell apart. Eastern Red Bats can be found east of the Rocky Mountains across southern Canada to the Atlantic coast and south to central Florida, west Texas, and southern New Mexico. They have become more common in Alberta and British Columbia over the last 20 years. Western Red Bats are found along the west coast in the southwestern United States but not in British Columbia. Both Eastern and Western Red Bats migrate south to warmer parts of their range in winter.
Did you know? Red Bats hibernate in hollow trees or under leaf litter, using their thickly-furred tail as a blanket to keep them warm.
See Also: Big Brown Bat, Hoary Bat, Little Brown Bat, Northern Long-eared Bat
