Funnel-Eared Bats: Natalidae

Funnel-eared bats form colonies, groups, of up to 300 individuals. Some observations have also found fewer than a dozen individuals. These bats often roost with other families of bats. Northern populations may travel to warmer areas in the winter. Some species of bats have been observed hanging singly, alone.

Since they are nocturnal, active at night, funnel-eared bats leave their roost about half an hour after sunset to forage, search, for food. They use echolocation (eck-oh-loh-KAY-shun) to locate their prey, animals hunted for food. Echolocation is the detection of objects by emitting, sending out, sounds and listening to the returning sounds that bounce off objects. These bats flutter their wings rapidly while flying, like a moth, and can maneuver (mah-NOO-ver) easily. This allows them to enter and exit dense plant growth.

Females bear a single offspring late in the dry season, when they establish separate maternity colonies. Little is known about the mating behavior of these bats, but findings show that males mate with more than one female during the season.