Bats have been among the unheralded victims of Gulf Coast hurricanes in recent years, reports National Geographic News. The storms destroyed countless old-growth, hollow trees, where many bats prefer to roost. In east Texas, Bat Conservation International and a number of partners are testing a potential alternative to the oversized tree hollows favored by bats. Cinderblock towers being built at the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge that are designed to mimic hollow trees, reporter Brian Handwerk writes. Observations so far suggest these......more

Bat houses are rare in Norway, but several bat species frequently move into houses and other buildings, often generating unfortunate and misleading publicity about bats. The most common species found in buildings are northern bats (Eptesicus nilssonii) and soprano pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pygmaeus), both very small bats....more

Snuggled tightly together, three baby red bats hang in near-total silence amid the leaves all night long. Exposed among the tree’s foliage, their tiny bodies look like dead leaves or dried fruit, and that is their only protection against a host of predators. Then their mother returns from a night of foraging. As she comes near, she makes a distinctive call that alerts her pups. She...more