The representative of bats is a northern leather jacket

Of all mammals, it is bats that cause dislike among many. Is this related to the legends of vampires, or is the reason in another? Never mind. One of the representatives of these unusual animals, the northern leatherskin, is rather interesting in its unique way of life. And no matter how squeamish you are about these little animals, you should take into account the considerable benefit that they bring.

Description of the species

These representatives of the order of bats are medium-sized animals. The northern leather jacket, whose description is given below, affects the ratio of the span of its wings to the size of the body. If the body length is only 4.9-6.4 cm, the range is 24-28 cm. The wing is pointed, narrow (if compared with other species of bats). The tail is short, up to 5 cm in length, and the tip protrudes from the interstitial membrane 4-5 mm.

The ear of the leather jacket is hollow rounded to the top, with a thin skin, covered with fur of black color. At the entrance to the auditory canal there is a short, rounded at the top of the cartilaginous tubercle.

Fur in animals is long and thick. Regardless of the shade of the coat, the back is always slightly darker than the abdomen. From other representatives of the detachment this bat, the photo of which you see, is distinguished by the golden coloration of the upper part of the wool, sometimes even with metallic luster. In some individuals, the golden tips are placed only along the ridge, and not along the entire back. The characteristic luster is almost invisible during the molting of the animal.

The fur can be dark brown, then the abdomen is brownish-brown. In Tuva, a northern leather jacket of grayish-yellow shades with a belly of dirty white was found. Described individuals and chocolate color with a yellow belly. In the dark, almost black color is also a muzzle.

Kozhanok - a predator, so his jaw is armed with 32-34 teeth. The tooth formula for representatives of the species is as follows:

• Incisors - 2/3;
• Canine teeth 1/1;
• Premolars - 1-2 / 2;
• Molars - 3/3.

The body weight varies from 8 to 14 grams, the skeleton is light, which allows the animal to fly.

Distribution area

Among all known bats, the northern leather jacket is the most resistant to low temperatures. Thanks to this feature, this animal could widely spread across the territory of Eurasia - from the forest-tundra to the Siberian taiga. You can find it in the semi-deserts of the Republic of Tuva, and in the Caucasus Mountains, on the territory of Mongolia and on the island of Sakhalin. Until late autumn, the leatherskin actively hunts.

This species of bats also occurs on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. Discovered it for the first time in 1934 on the grounds of the Berezinsky Reserve, and a little later - in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. It is in this republic that the leatherskin is listed in the Red Book.

As you can see, the range of the animal is wide, but the species itself is subject to extinction. This is due to active speleological research, and environmental pollution, and deforestation, in which live bats. If you do not undertake to keep these animals in time, it is quite possible that the species will disappear before it can be fully explored.

Lifestyle

The life span of this species is about 15 years. They hibernate in small flocks, consisting of 20-30 individuals (samochki). Males prefer solitude. At low temperatures, they hide from the cold in the voids and under the bark of trees, in caves or under the roofs of houses, in galleries or hollows. But it's only necessary for the thermometer to show the temperature above zero, as they leave the wintering place and fly out to the hunt immediately after sunset.

Prefer to look for food in the woodlands or on the edge of the forest, on city streets or near human habitation. Rising high up to 30 m, deftly, quickly and often flapping wings, maneuvering the northern leather jacket. What does he eat, you ask? All flying insects fall into the sharp teeth of the animal - moths and scoops, moths and fires, leaf rollers and weevils, beetles and barbarians. Eating a bat helps to get rid of pests of forests and crops, saving the harvest.

Once in the cave, where the colony of bats live, you will be stunned by squeaking and zvirkaniem, through which there is communication between individuals. Each species, and northern leatherbacks including, has its own range of sound signals. For our species, a signal in the range from 5 to 25 kHz is characteristic. But this squeak is used not only for communication. With its help, the animal "sees" and can navigate even in total darkness.

With the onset of winter, some of the individuals move to the south, and some remain in place and hide in wintering areas.

Marriage games, pregnancy, childbirth

Matrimonial games of these bats are little studied, but it is known that they are performed only once a year - in the autumn. During this period males and females can live next door, in the rest of the time males prefer solitude. The female experiences a wintering already pregnant. And in the beginning or middle of summer babies appear. The bat gives birth (the photo of the animal is given in the article), usually two, less often one cub.

Being in a pack, females alone grow babies until their sexual maturity, which comes in eleven months. Males do not participate in the upbringing of the younger generation. It is interesting that the young people of kozhankov are often nailed to colonies of bats of a different species, for example, to bat flies and night-nails. And those do not drive them away.

Perhaps, having learned more closely these useful animals, we will cease to shiver, seeing flying in the night sky of bats. After all, these are our neighbors who play an important role in the cycle of nature and have the right to live.