What are bats doing in winter cold? Do bats hibernate in cold weather? Or do they not sleep during the winter months, but just fly less? If the mice fall asleep, then where do they do it? Is it possible to accidentally wake such a mouse? Are these animals aggressive after an accidental awakening?
Most people know how birds or animals behave during the onset of cold weather, but have no idea what bats do in the winter months.
Do they all winter where they live?
Not all species of flying animals remain for the winter where they spend the summer months. Some of their varieties fly to warmer places, just like birds. But many species of these animals remain wintering where they live.
Among the mice that remain for the winter, the following species are more common than others:
- evening parties;
- earflaps;
- night lights.
The animals of these species find suitable secluded places and fall into a long suspended animation lasting up to six months. However, if a person manages to find a place where the bat hibernates and accidentally or intentionally disturb the animal, then the animals, despite the cold weather, fly away in search of a new haven. Such forced migrations significantly harm the health of animals and can cause some animals to not wake up with the onset of heat, that is, they will die.
Where can I find them?
To find the place where the bat hibernates, you need to know what conditions the animal needs to hibernate. Not every attic in a residential building or a cave in the forest is characterized by the qualities necessary for a long suspended animation. The place must meet certain parameters.
Where the bat hibernates, fairly stringent conditions must be met:
- temperature not higher than 8 degrees of heat, but not lower than 7;
- humidity - from 80%;
- lack of drafts.
The requirements are quite complicated, especially for urban settlements. For this reason, it is not difficult to find a place where bats hibernate in the city. It is enough to exclude all those places in which the animals will not be comfortable.
What suits them for sleep?
Mice that remain for the winter in the climatic conditions of the middle lane prefer to do this in such places:
- abandoned adits and mines;
- insulated attics of non-residential old houses and cellars;
- deep and dry wells;
- large hollows;
- branched grottoes or caves.
Mice can winter in any other places suitable for them. For example, among shelters where bats hibernate in Russia, abandoned pipelines and buildings occupy one of the first positions. Large pipes under rural bridges, in which streams or rivers used to flow, can also become a haven for animals. True, only in the southern regions of the country. They settle in the winter quarters in the ruins of churches, estates and other ancient buildings.
Can they winter with people?
For long hibernation, animals need a calm atmosphere. However, this does not mean that they are hiding from everything around. For example, places where bats hibernate in villages are:
- barns
- cattle and poultry houses;
- abandoned houses;
- sheds and other outbuildings.
The only thing that mice need from human buildings is the absence of temperature changes, bright lighting and drafts.
How long have they been sleeping?
The very concept of “wintering” is relative when it comes to bats. The animals sleep from 5 to 6 months, but can be in suspended animation for longer. In fact, these little animals migrate to the place of wintering as soon as the night temperature drops below 12 degrees and remains at this level for some time.
The place where the bat hibernates is constant. These animals have a specific memory, and as soon as they find the place that is most suitable for the wintering conditions, they return to it for years.
