Big brown bats – the name of the species, not just a description – are common in the United States.
They are so adaptable they are often found even in urban settings, taking advantage of walls, chimneys and eaves.
So why are they missing from urbanized Orange County?
One local bat researcher who spends her evenings tracking the elusive creatures says she has looked for them in vain in urban centers, for example in northwestern Orange County. Sometimes a lone male turns up, but that’s about it.
The bats are easily found in the Santa Ana Mountains and in wildlands to the west, such as the Donna O’Neill Land C onservancy.
Bats, which are sensitive to environmental changes, can act as a bellwether for subtle alterations that might escape human notice. It might be that the county’s urban areas are too extensively paved, without enough green space to allow these bats to thrive.
Or, it could be something more alarming – accumulation of pesticides in their bodies, for example.
The bats are indeed brown, but big is a relative term. Most people would view them as tiny, despite their 12-13 inch wingspans. They are about a third larger than another species, the little brown bat.
They are probably of middling size in the bat world; the tiniest bats, such as pipistrelles, are small enough to get tangled up in spider webs.
Nationwide, there are plenty of big brown bats, so the species is not in trouble. But further research into their absence in Orange County could lead to new insights – about both bats and the effects of civilization.
Contact the writer: (714) 796-7865 or pbrennan@ocregister.com
