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 their ability to fly, and rarely become aggressive. Careless handling of bats is the main cause of rabies transmission, which has resulted in five human cases in Canada since 1925. Fewer than 2% of bats in Canada are rabid, 95% of which are big brown bats. Testing bats for rabies is usually performed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Inhalation of dusty bat manure may result in histoplasmosis, which will present as a mild respiratory infection. There are no pesticides that may be used on bats in Canada. In 2011, the Nature Conservancy of Canada received a $50,000 grant from