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with Bat Conservation Ireland

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Winter

December

Bats hanging in a treeI’m hibernating!

Hibernation is much more than sleep. Even though I am a mammal and warm-blooded just like you, in winter when I am hibernating my body feels cold to the touch. My heart is just beating a couple of times a minute and I’m barely breathing.

It takes me about half an hour and lots of shivering to wake up and get my body warmed up again. I hibernate to save energy because there are not enough insects for me to eat during the winter.

This winter I picked a lovely cave to hibernate in because it stays nice and cool. Last winter I spent a lot of time hibernating in a hole in an old oak tree.

January

It is cold outside. I am still very tired…shhh! Don’t wake me up!

February

I’m still hibernating. Even though in Ireland we say the first of February is the first day of spring, for us bats it still feels too cold at night to bother waking up from hibernation. So, if you will please be quiet I’m going to keep on dreaming… zzzzzzz!

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Bat Facts

  • A year in a bat's life
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
  • Our Irish bats
  • What's so special about bats?
  • Are bats blind?
  • Where bats live in Ireland
  • Are bats good or bad?
  • Bats and biodiversity
  • Myths and legends

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