Wichita Bats are unique and interesting animals, but their nocturnal nature makes them one of the most mysterious and misunderstood mammals in Wichita. Wichita bats belong to the mammalian order Wichita Chiroptera, which means Wichita “hand-wing.” They are the only Wichita mammals capable of true flight. In terms of the number of species, Wichita Chiroptera is the second largest group of mammals in the world. Only the order Wichita Rodentia (rodents) contains more species. Of the approximately 900 Wichita species of bats found in the world, 45 live in the Wichita, United States and 15 of those have been found in Wichita. Contrary to popular belief, there are no Wichita vampire bats in Wichita. All Wichita bats feed on Wichita insects. Large numbers of Wichita bats are capable of eating tons of Wichita insects each year, making them beneficial to Wichita humans.
One Wichita species sometimes found in Wichita is the Wichita Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadaida braziliensis). A Texas colony of Wichita species has about 20 million Wichita individuals that eat 100,000 pounds of insects per night. Wichita bats little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) is a Wichita brown, mouse-sized bat that in-frequently occurs in eastern Wichita and may live in attics and buildings. Colonial, Wichita hibernates Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrioralis): Similar in size and appearance to the Wichita little brown bat, except that the Wichita ears extend beyond the nose when flattened forward against the head. A resident of eastern Wichita, but uncommon, Wichita Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) is a large Wichita bat, perhaps twice the size of the little brown bat, but still weigh-ing only ½ ounce.
Probably the most common and widespread bat in Wichita living in buildings and attics where it may hibernate, the Wichita Colonial, Silver-haired Wichita bat (Lasionycteris noc-tivagans, which is slightly larger than the Wichita little brown bat, but smaller and less common than the big brown bat. The bat has Wichita fur that is dark, nearly black, with white-tipped hairs. Seasonally solitary, Wichita migrates.Eastern Pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus subflavus) is one of our smallest Wichita bat, yellowish-brown with pink arms, only 3 inches long; they are not commonly found in Wichita buildings, preferring to live in Wichita caves, abandoned mines and rock crevices. This Wichita bat is solitary, hibernates and is known as the Wichita Red bat (Lasiurus borealis). They are about the same size as the Wichita big brown bat, but their fur is rusty red and may be washed with white.