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Brazilian free-tailed bat - TADARIDA BRASILIENSIS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Bat": "Bat" comes from Old Norse "ledhrblaka," "leather flapper." It became "bakka" and then "bat."
Description: A small, robust, gray-brown bat with long tail, half of its length free beyond the tail membrane; long, stiff hairs on the toes; short, broad muzzle with wrinkled lips; ears bonnet-shaped. Length of head and body 1.9-2.6 in, forearm 1.5-1.8 in; weight 0.4-0.7 oz.
Location: Southern half of U.S. to mid Chile and Argentina.
Habitat: Scrub and woodlands.
Behavior: Summer nursery colonies of this highly gregarious bat number up to 10 or 20 million per cave in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona. At one time, nearly 9 million inhabited the Carlsbad Caverns; now only some 250,000 bats summer there. These vast populations migrate as far as 800-1 000 miles into Mexico for the winter, whereas in southeastern and western North America, the free-tails remain throughout the year, roosting in buildings and possibly hibernating in cold weather. Flying 35 to 50mph, freetails emerge at dusk to feed on small moths.
Reproduction: Gestation is 77-84 days in Florida, about 100 days in California (unknown for other parts of the range). The single offspring is born in June-July and is able to fly in about 5 weeks.
Go to the Bats Page to get a general discussion of this flying mammal.
Go to the Bats Index to study the other bats included in America Zoo.
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