Oklahoma Bats Oklahoma Bats . . . All bats give birth to one or two naked young a year. A newborn bat has well developed feet and claws that it uses to cling to its mother or to roost when the mother leaves to eat. Disturbances of maternity roosts can result in large numbers of young bat deaths. When disturbed, the mother bat becomes excited and flies, jerking the young bats and causing them to fall.
Bats have small eyes that are functional and sensitive to light.
Several Oklahoma bats, such as Rafinesque's and Townsend's big-eared bats, have greatly enlarged ears to help in echolocation, but bats also use sight to perceive their environment. Once they locate an insect, they often trap it with their wing or tail membranes and then reach down and take the insect into their mouth. This action, as well as the chase, results in the erratic flight most people are familiar with when they observe bats feeding in the late evening or around lights at night. All healthy bats try to avoid humans by taking flight and are not purposely aggressive. Most bats in Oklahoma are about the size of a mouse and use their small teeth and weak jaws to grind up insects.