Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a middle school student and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that used the outside of her former home for a winter roost. Her family cheerfully hosted the wild colony for years.

Today’s blog is dedicated to the people of Brussels, Belgium. I hope the injured recover quickly and that the people who lost loved ones find peace. I would also like to say “hello” to my family there. Although I haven’t met you, I was worried about you and I am very glad that you are all OK.

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. Since it is Easter season, I had been planning on writing about a cute little long eared bat. It wouldn’t be a bunny, but it would be the closest that a bat could get to one. After hearing the news about what happened in Brussels, I thought I would find a long eared bat that lives in Belgium. I got very lucky! There is an adorable little bat that lives in most of Europe, including Belgium. It is the Brown Long-Eared Bat and it is really cute.

The brown long-eared bat has really big ears. Its ears are almost as long as its body! When the bat is flying, it holds its ears upright. When the bat is resting the ears curl back to look like a ram’s horns, or they get tucked under the bat’s wings. Brown long-eared bats have long gray-brown fur. They have a wingspan of 23-28 cm and weigh 6-12 g. They usually live 4-5 years.

Brown long-eared bats like to eat yummy moths, beetles, flies, caddis flies, beetles and earwigs. These bats fly slowly compared to other bats and they are even able to hover! They like to live in woodlands and lowland valleys. In the winter, they like to hibernate in caves, tunnels, icehouses, cellars and trees. In the summer, they like to roost in houses, old buildings with large open roofs, tree holes and bat boxes.

These bats are also called ‘whispering bats’ because they have a very quiet calls that are between 25-50 kHz. The calls can only be heard with a bat detector if it is close by.

If you want to read more about this cute little bat, you can find it here. https://ptes.org/get-informed/facts-figures/brown-long-eared-bat/

I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter! I hope the Easter Bunny is good to you. And don’t forget to look up at the sky at night. You might just see the Easter Bat bringing yummy treats to the little bat pups.