Townsend's big-eared bat

The Natural History Museum of Utah describes Townsend's big-eared bat as brown, with very large ears and a pair of glandular lumps on the nose. It is common along the Wasatch Front and lives across a wide range of habitats and elevations.

It is particularly dependent on caves and mines for roosting, comes out late after sunset, forages near vegetation and eats mostly moths. It hibernates in caves or mines, sometimes in groups of more than 100. Females form maternity colonies of up to several hundred, with a single young in early summer.

Because these roosts matter so much, leave caves and mines alone. Utah DWR says bats in Utah usually hibernate in small groups or alone, many in cliff crevices as well as caves, and that disturbing a maternity colony in summer can kill pups that cannot yet fly.

Brown bat with very large ears and nose lumps.

Stay out of caves and abandoned mines, especially in summer and winter.