Don C. asked -

>>>>>>>
I have had what I believe to be a Townsend's Big-eared Bat spending the
occasional day in my tool shed. It is most often found suspended from
the ceiling and it has always been found alone. I believe it is a male
due in part to its solitary nature and secondly I recall having read
something about the shape of some part of the ear that was a clue to
sex. I have taken slides of the bat that are as of yet undeveloped. I
am curious to know more about this species but have found very little
literature. I understand that this species reaches its northernmost
(known) limit of its range here on mid-Vancouver Island. I was
particularly surprised to note that it was still present as recent as
Sept. 19. My understanding is that this is a migratory species however
I do not have any dates offered for migration times.

>>>>>

Don, your best bet is to contact Dave Nagorsen at the Royal BC Museum in
Victoria. He is the bat expert in the province. According to his book
"Bats of B.C." which he wrote with Mark Brigham in 1993 (highly
recommended - ISBN 0-7748-0482-3), there are records for this species as
far north as near Williams Lake. And this is one of the few bat species
which hibernates in B.C. The closest hibernaculum to you is on Thetis
Island, with a more famous one just inside of the old copper mine shaft
on the north shore of Kamloops Lake. Normal winter temperature at this
site is -4 Celsius!

- Jack

Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
jcbowling at mindlink.bc.ca