Bats

Waterton Lakes National Park

Why care about bats?

Bats play an important role in healthy ecosystems - they eat half of their body weight in insects every night!
They are susceptible to a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome, which often kills up to 99% of bats roosting together during hibernation. This has caused drastic declines in bat populations across eastern Canada.
Seven of Canada’s 19 bat species have been identified in Waterton Lakes National Park including the little brown myotis: an endangered species highly susceptible to white-nose syndrome.
All bats in Waterton are protected by law under the Canada National Parks Act. The little brown bat is also protected under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.

Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)

The little brown bat is also called the little brown myotis. The word “myotis” means “mouse-eared,” and refers to its relatively small, mouse-like ears. Little brown bats are one of the most well-known bat species in Canada. They like to roost in buildings and are often seen flying at night, catching insects over lakes and around streetlights.

Quick Facts

Eats flying insects like mosquitoes, moths, and beetles
Navigates using echolocation and vision
Weighs on average 7.4 grams (a bit heavier than a loonie)
Lives around 30 years
SARA status: Endangered (2014)

Where they live

Little brown bats in a cave hibernaculum ©Sharon Irwin

Little brown bats are active at night, and rest during the day in roosts. Roosts can be human-made structures like buildings and bridges, or in natural structures like caves, tree cavities, and rock crevices.

Different roosts are used for different activities. Little brown bats hibernate during the winter months in cold, humid spaces called hibernacula, most commonly in caves. In early summer, female bats give birth in spaces called maternity roosts. Bats typically have only one pup per year.

A 2023 study in Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks found that little brown bats only used buildings as maternity roosts.

Why they are at risk

White-nose syndrome

It is an invasive fungal disease that infects bats during hibernation, causing them to wake often and use up the energy they need to survive the winter. Bats may also leave their hibernaculum too early and starve, or freeze to death outside. The fungus appears as a white powder on the bat’s nose, ears, and wings.

White-nose syndrome spreads quickly from bat to bat and can kill up to 99% of bats at a site. Between 2006 and 2012, an estimated 5.7 to 6.7 million bats in eastern North America died from white-nose syndrome. Since then, the disease has spread westward. The fungus was first documented in Alberta and British Columbia in 2021/22. Currently, there are no known cases of bats with white-nose syndrome in the mountain national parks.

Human disturbance

Public opinion of bats can be negatively shaped by media and myth. Bats are often viewed as ugly, scary, disease-carrying pests. As a result, bats are particularly vulnerable to human disturbance.

Outside the national parks, bats have been exterminated, and their roosts removed from buildings. Homeowners and businesses may have health concerns about diseases bats can carry, and a build up of bat feces.

Taking action

Monitoring

Parks Canada regularly tests for signs of white-nose syndrome

Parks Canada identifies and monitors bat populations using different methods:

Stationary and mobile ultrasonic bat detectors
Lab analysis of guano (bat poop)
Parks Canada contributes to the North American Bat Monitoring Program

Protecting roosts

In the national parks and national historic sites, little brown bats and their roosts are protected by law under the National Parks Act and Canada’s Species at Risk Act. It is illegal to harm or disturb bats and their occupied or unoccupied roosts. Violators will be charged, be required to appear in court, and could pay fines up to $25,000. When bats are found in buildings, Parks Canada works with residents and businesses to help people and bats safely coexist.

Protecting caves

Natural caves are important hibernation sites for bats. It is illegal to enter any cave in the national parks without a permit. When cave access is required for research, Parks Canada staff and researchers follow decontamination protocols so that they don’t spread the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome.

Research

Parks Canada collaborates with other scientists and agencies to learn more about bats.

Discover bat research in Waterton: Wildfire effects on bats

How you can help

Bats in and around buildings: what to look for

Bats often roost in attics or other hidden spaces in buildings. Signs that bats may be inside a building include: an accumulation of guano (bat droppings that are solid, black/brown in colour, containing insect wings), noise coming from between walls, and seeing bats exit a building at sunset or entering at sunrise. Most roosting bats remain in one place for a few days. However, some roosts, such as those with females and their young, may house larger numbers of bats staying in one location for longer.

When you travel to or from the national parks, check for bats in your camping equipment: for example, inside a patio umbrella or the folds of a tent trailer. Moving a bat could potentially spread white-nose syndrome.

If you are undertaking building renovations or construction activities

Always be on the lookout for signs of bats. Parks Canada requires a pre-construction bat survey to be completed if there is a possibility that bats are roosting on site. If you encounter live or dead bats, or find signs of bats, stop work and immediately call 1-888-927-3367. A Parks Canada Resource Conservation Officer will respond and advise you of appropriate actions to take.

If you find a dead, sick or injured bat in the park, report it to Parks Canada by calling 1-888-927-3367 immediately. Do not touch or handle the bat. Do not disturb the roost.

Coming in contact with a bat may pose serious health risks

Recently there have been documented cases of bats with rabies in Banff National Park
Rabies is a rare but serious viral disease that can infect humans and domestic pets
Rabies can be transmitted if you are bitten or scratched by an infected bat. It can also be transmitted if infectious material, such as saliva, gets directly into the eyes, nose, mouth, or a wound
If you know or suspect that you have been bitten or scratched by a bat, wash the wound well with soap and water and immediately seek medical treatment. Do not wait. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear
Seek immediate medical advice if you know or suspect that you may have been in direct contact with a bat even if there are no signs of a bite or scratch (e.g. a bat present inside your house when you are sleeping)
If a pet encounters a live or a dead bat immediately contact your veterinarian

Connected: A Parks Canada Podcast

All animals and plants are protected inside the national parks, but some need extra help. Connected will introduce you to species at risk that are in danger of disappearing.

In Episode 6: Little Brown Bat (10:28), Wildlife Ecologist Anne Forshner introduces us to the world of little brown bats. Discover how Parks Canada is learning more about the lives of these flying mammals, like where they like to roost. Ultimately, this knowledge will help us fight a deadly and looming threat — white-nose syndrome.