Oregon bats are the only flying mammals in the wonderful state of Oregon using their skills of sound to locate their prey, and they live a very long time for such small animals. Oregon does not have spectacular congregations of thousands of bats like those found in Texas caves, but Oregon bats are found in Oregon living varied and interesting life, but either solitary or found in small colonies.
Oregon bats are different than other bats in different parts of the world who usually feed on fruit, fish, nectar, or even blood, but all Oregon bats dine on insects. Oregon bats consume pests such as spruce budworm moths, tussock moths, mosquitoes, pine bark beetle moths and gypsy moths. An Oregon bat at can catch up to 600 insects in an hour.
Oregon citizens who mean no harm to bats often do not understand how vulnerable bats are to disturbance of their roosting sites. Thus these beneficial and harmless Oregon animals have been killed or have been unable to reproduce enough to maintain their numbers. While accurate counts of these small, nocturnal, and widely distributed Oregon animals are very difficult, there is evidence that some species are declining.
Oregon bats are members of the species order of Chiroptera, which means “hand-wing.” Like all Oregon mammals, Oregon bats have warm blood and hair. They bear live young and nurse them with Oregon milk. Their wings are supported by long finger bones covered with two thin layers of skin, like webbing between your thumb and first finger. This Oregon skin covering extends to the legs and, in some species, between the legs to the tail. Oregon Bats can use the wing and tail membranes to scoop insects. Oregon Bats have small, movable thumbs on the top of their wings for grasping and climbing. Their back feet are used for hanging and grasping.