Data Sheet

Pronunciation: para-a-strell-lus hes-per-us

The canyon bats (formerly known as the Western Pipistrelle) is found from Jalisco and Baja California, Mexico, northward to the state of Washington, and from California eastward to southwestern Oklahoma. It is a bat common to deserts, woodlands, and shrublands where it roosts day and night among boulders, or in cracks and crevices of rock faces. It has been suggested that canyon bats use burrows made by kangaroo rats (Dipodomys) and other rodents.

Canyon bats do not seem to migrate far and may stay in the same area throughout the year. They probably hibernate in mines and caves during winter. Maternity colonies of up to a dozen individuals have been reported, but pregnant solitary females have also been found. Pregnant females and newborn pups have been observed in late July, early August.