Maternity colony (bats) Maternity colony (bats) A maternity colony refers to a temporary association of reproductive female bats for giving birth to, nursing, and weaning their pups. The colonies are initiated by pregnant bats. After giving birth, the colony consists of the lactating females and their offspring. After weaning, juveniles will leave the maternity colony, and the colony itself will break apart. The size of a maternity colony is highly variable by species, with some species forming colonies consisting of ten or fewer individuals, while the largest maternity colony in the world in Bracken Cave is estimated to have over 15 million bats.
Bats of Canada Natural Resources and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The three species in Canada affected by the syndrome have been recommended for endangered species status. These are the little brown bat, northern long-eared myotis, and the Eastern pipistrelle. By 2014, about 99% of brown-nosed bats in New Brunswick had died as a result of the disease, and it is considered functionally extirpated in some parts of eastern Canada. Bats may also transmit rabies to humans. Although rare, a bat bite or scratch, particularly from silver-haired bats, may result in rabies to humans, cats, or dogs. Rabid bats usually lose