Little free-tailed bats primarily use echolocation in navigating their environment, as well as in hunting for food. Echolocation patterns vary geographically. Echolocation calls of Chaerephon pumilus in the Amani Nature Reserve of Tanzania were of a lower frequency and had longer gaps between pulses than in individuals of the same species living in South Africa. It is possible that echolocation calls vary with habitat or prey types. Little free-tailed bats, like most bats, have monochromatic vision. Vision in used in a secondary capacity to echolocation. It has recently been noted that many bats have elevated sensitivity to ultraviolet light, which is most abundant at dawn and dusk. Tactile and chemical cues may also be used extensively in social communication.
Communication Channels: acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; echolocation ; chemical
Little free-tailed bat populations are large, widespread, and do not seem to be rapidly declining. They are considered "least concern" by the IUCN.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
All bats can be carriers of diseases, such as rabies. Large colonies that roost in buildings are considered a problem as their droppings can create quite a smell.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (carries human disease); causes or carries domestic animal disease ; household pest
Little free-tailed bats prey on insects, which help humans by limiting insect pests, such as agricultural pests or insect disease vectors.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Little free-tailed bats are preyed on by many larger African birds and are predators of insect populations. Little free-tailed bats coexist peacefully in roosts with the larger mollosid, Mops condylurus.
Mutualist Species:
Juvenile little free-tailed bats have been know to have milk and remains of large cockroaches in their stomachs. Adults are purely insectivorous. They eat a wide variety of soft-bodied insects. Food sources remain relatively stable throughout the seasons, but the average size of prey is greatly increased during the rainy season.
Animal Foods: insects
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore )
Chaerephon pumilus, commonly known as the little free-tailed bat, is found from Senegal to Somalia and South Africa. They are also found in Yemen and Madagascar.
Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )
Chaerephon pumilus can be found in a variety of habitats, from the semi-arid regions of the African north to areas of cleared rainforest farther south. Specimens have been found widely distributed throughout savannah/woodland terrain of Zambia, Guinea, Sudan and Zimbabwe, as well as the forests of the Congo basin. In Cape Province, South Africa they may be found in the mountainous Cape Macchia Zone. Little free-tailed bats naturally roost in the hollows and crevices of trees and in the crowns of some types of palm trees, where large colonies can find safety.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest
Other Habitat Features: riparian
There is no information on lifespan in little free-tailed bats.
Chaerephon pumilus is a small species of bat. Most little free-tailed bats have a body that is covered with blackish brown fur, fading to pale tan or even white hairs on the ventral surface where the body meets the wings. However, much variation is present throughout their geographic range. Little free-tailed bats have rounded ears, which are over-sized for their heads. Average mass is 11.1 g, average length in observed specimens is 252 mm, and average wingspan is 255 mm. Males are slightly larger than females. Chaerephon pumilus is distinguishable from other members of its genus by its small size and the species’ lack of a lobe projecting between the inner bases of the ears. Males have a forehead crest that creates a recognizable silhouette even when in flight.
Average mass: 11.1 g.
Average length: 252 mm.
Average wingspan: 255 mm.
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Known predators of little free-tailed bats include bat-hawks (Macheiramphis alcinus), hobby falcons (Falco subbuteo), Wahlberg’s eagles (Hieraaetus wahlbergi), and African goshawks (Accipiter tachiro). These prey birds successfully capture between 1 and 5 bats per night. Chaerephon pumilus may have developed its erratic flight pattern as an anti-predator tactic. Their nocturnal activity and cryptic coloration also help to protect them from some predators.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Little free-tailed bats are social and gregarious, living in large multi-male, multi-female colonies. Group ratios range between 3 and 21 females per male in a harem. Heavier males have larger harems than smaller males. Few females make movements between harems.
Mating System: polygynous
In Ghana, female little free-tailed bats give birth 3 times per year in synchrony with other females. The breeding season in Chaerephon pumilus varies by location. Timing of pregnancies has been shown to have a loose correlation with rainfall patterns. They have single births as a rule, although twinning has been documented in one case. Gestation period varies by location, from 60 days in the south to 72 days in the northern portion of their range. Uteri in little free-tailed bats are bicornuate, but implantation almost always occurs in the right horn. Young are nursed for 2 to 3 weeks after birth, after which they rapidly attain the ability to fly and feed themselves. Females are sexually mature in the breeding season after their birth. Sexual maturity in males occurred about 5 months after birth in Ghana, but research is inconclusive in other geographical areas studied.
Breeding interval: Little free tailed bats breed at varying intervals dependent on geographic location.
Breeding season: The breeding season for little free-tailed bats varies geographically.
Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 60 to 72 days.
Range weaning age: 2 to 3 weeks.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 5 (low) months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Lactation in little free-tailed bats lasts between 2 and 3 weeks, preceded by a 60 to 72 day gestation period. No paternal investment has been observed. Once the young are weaned, they become independent shortly afterwards.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
