The family way

My mum

Rottie

One of my brothers - I've got two brothers and two sisters - who is called Rottie, lives with our mum not far from me.  After training school this morning I went to visit them and we had a lovely time despite the warm temperature.  Mummy has had her hair cut short but me and Rots got very hot and we weren't allowed to cool off in the lake for some silly reason to do with its smell.

Bats usually have only one baby a year, and their mummy gives them milk for about three weeks until they are big enough to fly and catch their own food.  When it's time to mate, male bats give out special calls to let the females know where they are, and possibly to warn off other males. Some do this from a prominent roosting place in a tree or on the side of a building. Others fly up and down the same route, calling as they fly. These calls are often low-pitched, almost audible to humans. This means that the sound will travel further, so advertising the bat to a wider audience.  The males hope any females passing may be attracted and pay them a visit. (More from the Natural History Museum).

The mating happens in the Autumn, but it's a bit early in the year for baby bats at the moment - June, July and early August is the time to look out for them.  Considering dogs are born about 9 weeks after mating, that's a long time for a bat to be pregnant, and this is a very interesting thing I will explain another time when I have done some more research, as it's very clever how bats organise it.  I am too young to have babies myself, which I am pleased about.

Baby bats are very small and have greyish fur, although if it is very young, like this one, it won't be fully furred.