Greater Horseshoe Bat

Greater horseshoe bats occur across Europe, northern Africa, and temperate Asia. Their elaborate horseshoe-shaped nose leaves focus echolocation calls emitted through the nostrils. They roost in caves, mines, and buildings while hunting above nearby woodland edges and pastures. These bats are nocturnal and social, forming maternity colonies in warm roosts and hibernating in cooler underground sites from autumn into spring, often hanging in clusters wrapped in their wings. (Animal Diversity Web)

The greater horseshoe bat feeds primarily on comparatively large insects, especially moths, butterflies, and beetles. It hunts close to the ground using echolocation, reducing activity when cold weather prevents insect flight. Females generally give birth to a single young after gestation of about eighty days, although stored sperm and delayed fertilization separate autumn mating from later development. Mothers nurse their offspring for approximately eight weeks before the young become nutritionally independent. (Animal Diversity Web)