Got Bats? BC Community Bat Project

09/01/2026

Richmond Nature Series - Bat Walk!
Sept 12th at No. 7 Rd Pier Park 7-830pm
The event is free but registration required. Here is the link.
https://www.richmond.ca/parks-recreation/parks/programs/natureseries.htm

Learn insights about these nocturnal mammals and their role in ecosystems from a local bat expert. Presentation and a guided walk to observe bats is included. Registration required.

City Of Richmond, Bc

08/25/2026

The Bat Friendly Communities initiative goes national!

OTTAWA, Ontario, Aug. 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF), in partnership with the BC Community Bat Program and Wildlife Conservation Society Canada's Alberta Community Bat Program,

08/25/2026

Guano happens! 😆This is the time of year when our BC Community Bat Program Coordinators sort through guano samples that will be sent to the genetics lab for DNA testing. We can then figure out what species of bats are roosting in buildings and bat boxes all over BC.

Thank you for submitting your samples!

08/25/2026

Vancouver Island central and north - contact MARS if you find an injured bat!

08/21/2026

Did you find a bat on the ground? Don't touch it!

A bat on the ground could be a young bat that is learning to fly, or it could be injured, dehydrated, or sick.🦇

👉Keep pets away.
👉Teach children that bats are important wild animals and that they should never touch them.
👉Less than 1% of bats can carry rabies. It is only transferred by a bite, a scratch, or direct contact with an open wound. Never touch a bat with bare hands.

✅Visit www.bcbats.ca for further information on what to do. 🦇

08/21/2026

New reaseach studies on the effect of heat on bats. Bats are a hot topic!

New research alert! 🦇

A new paper co-authored by Western Bat Program Director Cori Lausen explores how female Yuma Myotis cope with extreme heat in British Columbia’s Fraser Canyon - one of the hottest parts of their Canadian range.

Researchers found that these tiny bats can tolerate air temperatures up to 44°C by allowing their body temperature to rise rather than relying heavily on evaporative cooling, which helps conserve their limited water reserves. However, this strategy has limits: modelling indicated that bats occupying a hot, sun-exposed artificial roost during the 2021 heatwave could have experienced lethal dehydration.

The findings highlight the importance of protecting natural roosts and ensuring that artificial roosts are carefully placed and designed with insulation and a range of temperatures, allowing bats to move to cooler areas during extreme heat.

This supports our WCS Canada Best Management Practices for bat houses - which advise to install at least 3 or more bat houses to create a "roost area" that provides shelters with different microclimates. The "hot roost" might be ideal during cool spring weather but too hot in July. Give bats the option to move to a shaded roost so they don't overheat. Great paper by a great group of dedicated bat biologists from Canada to Australia!

Read the paper: https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyag070


photo: Yuma Myotis/Jose G. Martinez-Fonseca (from iNaturalist)

08/21/2026

Cumberland bat event was a success.

Thanks the bat curious community for joining us last night for our Summer Bat Night at Comox Lake. We absolutely love sharing our passion for this fascinating species at risk. The Cumberland Forest is the host organization for the North Island chapter of the Got Bats? BC Community Bat Project and Heather Thomson from the CCFS is the local program coordinator. Events like our Science Pubs and 7th Annual Cumberland Fungus Fest support this work!

We'd love to hear from you:

🦇 if you think you may have a bat roost on your property
🦇 if you'd like to join us for the 2027 BC community bat count

Remember...

🚫 never touch a bat! This time of year juvenile bats can show up in weird places (teenagers!) Leave them be.
‼️If you or your pet comes in contact with a bat - contact public health or 811 (humans) or a vet (pets) asap and follow the steps provided.

08/20/2026

Did you find a bat on a wall? Give the bat a break. Leave it alone.

Bats are moving from their summer to their winter roosting sites. In some areas of BC, they have also been displaced by wildfires. You might find a bat or two roosting on exposed walls, entry ways, fences, benches, or other odd places.

Please do not disturb them. Do not touch them. Leave them alone.

Bats may stay just for a day sleeping and move on at night. Some may stay for up to a week, then fly away. This is normal behaviour at this time of year.

If the bat is not visibly injured (eg. bleeding or broken wing), leave it alone.

If it's roosting where children and pets cannot reach it, leave it alone.

If it's roosting down low, and there are children and pets that could come into direct contact with it; make a temporary fence with a chair or a pylon to keep the bat and the people separate. Check out www.bcbats.ca for further information on what to do.

08/20/2026

Facts about rabies! Bat Conservation International has a great article on bats and rabies.

Some key reminders for BC residents:

* Never touch a bat with bare hands
* Bats are important wildlife and protected under the BC Wildlife Act
* In August and September, bats are naturally moving from their summer roosting sites to their wintering grounds. People are more likely to see them.
* Simply being near a bat is no cause for alarm.
* Protecting bat populations and their habitat is itself part of protecting human health: fewer bats displaced by habitat destruction means fewer opportunities for contact in the first place.
* In BC, less than 0.5% of bats carry rabies.
*Rabies is transmitted from a sick bat if it bites or scratches you, or comes into contact with an open wound. Never touch a bat with bare hands.
* Rabies is NOT transmitted through urine or guano (droppings), nor through the air.
* In the last 100 years, 28 people have died in Canada from rabies. Rabies is a deadly disease, but prompt medical attention is 100% effective at preventing illness.
* If there is direct contact with a bat, wash the wound with soap and water for 15 minutes, and seek medical attention immediately.
* Learn to coexist safely with bats. Follow best management practices - www.bcbats.ca.

Read about rabies article here:
https://www.batcon.org/bats-rabies-fact-vs-fiction/?goal=0_3cba2225c4-a17302a9ef-615472334&mc_cid=a17302a9ef&mc_eid=41b7ff326e