Bat Species Presence in Southwestern Montana

Abstract

Published information on bat species presence in many parts of Montana is limited. Our study was initiated to gather data on the distribution of bat species found in the southwestern part of the state. We captured 106 individuals of eight bat species in mist-nets at 15 water sources in southwestern Montana during July through August 2003-2006. The western long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis) was the most frequently captured species and detected at over half the sites surveyed. Other common species captured across numerous sites included little brown myotis (M. lucifugus), hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus), and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). These species are apparently broadly distributed throughout southwestern Montana, occurring in a variety of habitat types. Our study provides some much needed baseline data on bat distribution in southwestern Montana.