Mammals · Chiroptera · Vespertilionidae

Brown Long-eared Bat

Plecotus auritus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

Its enormous ears, almost as long as its own body, fold back or tuck under the wings at rest. It spends an extraordinary amount of time in torpor, which may explain why females live longer.

Weight

6 g – 12 g

Size

4.5 cm – 4.8 cm

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestInsectivore Nocturnal Colonial Temperate forest Mammal

7countries14same family

Fun facts

Its ears are almost as long as its own body.
Females live markedly longer than males — more than twice as long in some studies.
It often eats its prey at a regular perch after catching it in flight.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Woodland, parks and wooded country across much of Europe and temperate Asia, as far as the Urals and the Caucasus
Birth weight: 2.09 grams
Size at birth: The young naked and pink at birth, with outsized feet for gripping its mother's fur
Sexual maturity: 12-15 months (some individuals mature in the autumn of their first year)
Gestation / incubation: 65 days
Litter / clutch size: 1 young per litter (occasionally 2)

Sources consulted: The Wildlife Trusts; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Animal Diversity Web; First-Nature; Animalia.bio; People's Trust for Endangered Species; batmonitoring.org; PMC (genome sequence study)

Where to find it

See its range on the interactive map

Best time: From April to October, at dusk, in woods and gardens; in winter it hibernates in caves, mines and cellars, with its enormous ears folded under its wings.