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 at the Beach Bats at the Beach Bats at the Beach is a "New York Times" bestselling picture book by Brian Lies. In the book, bats flock to the beach to spend a splendid moon-lit night on the sand and in the water, echoing what people do at the beach—but in a particularly batty way. The message of the book is that bats are not bad. A portion of all copies sold went to Bat Conservation International. The book was read aloud on National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition Saturday" by host Scott Simon and writer Daniel Pinkwater on June 24, 2006. Pinkwater said,