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Females ovulate in the winter and the spring and can store the sperm from the male until then. The bats are pregnant for 3 months and have their one pup in May or June. In 2 months the pups fully develop and are able to fly from their roost. [8] These bats live in caves throughout the whole year and prefer caves surrounded by oak-hickory forest.
The female period of gestation is three months. Baby bats are referred to as pups. Heart-nosed bats can only have one pup at a time. Females, like all mammals, feed their young via lactation. Females will carry their newborns until two months of age. After the third month, the pup is weaned from its mother and will then follow the mother around.
Another factor is due to the shortage of food stocks during winter as the insects are being driven away and as the result, bat hibernate in pregnant condition. [24] In pinnipeds, the purpose of delayed implantation is in order to increase survival chance of the young animals as the mother ensure that the neonates are born at an optimal season. [25]
A maternity colony may range in size from 12 bats to 200, although in the eastern United States, colonies of 1,000 or more have been formed. [2] During the winter, these bats hibernate, often when temperatures are around 32 to 53 °F (around 0 °C to 11.5 °C.) Townsend's roost singly during hibernation, forming small clusters only rarely.
These bats, known as Flying Foxes, usually head to warmer climates during the winter months. It was all hands on deck as the hospital staff worked to nurse the bats back to health.
Northern bat colonies have moved as far as 450 km (280 mi) over a period of several years. [1] It breeds in late autumn, and the females stores the male sperm over the winter. Hibernation begins in November to December and lasts until April. Females become pregnant in spring and give birth 50–60 days later. In summer, males dwell alone.
Unlike most bats, which bear only one pup per season, the western red bat can give birth to as many as four pups at once. [7] To compensate for larger litters, desert red bats have four nipples rather than two. The bats mate during August and September. Pups are born about 90 days after mating.
[5] [6] Newborn bats weigh about 13.5 g (0.48 oz) and have a wingspan of 24 cm (9.4 in). By the time of weaning at 4 weeks of age, young bats weigh 25 g (0.88 oz) and have wings spanning 36 cm (14 in). Female short-nosed fruit bats reach sexual maturity at 5–6 months of age, but males are not capable of breeding until they are a year old. [7]