Bats

Bats are common in both developed and built-up areas. Zambia has 64 species of insectivorous bats and 13 species of fruit bats.

Fruit Bats

The most famous fruit bats being the African straw-coloured fruit bat. It’s migration to Kasanka National Park, from late October to mid-December, includes over 10 million bats, making it is the largest mammal migration in the world.

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Pteropodidae

Flying foxes, Old World fruit or fruit bats: Fruit-eating bats containing the largest species.

African Straw-coloured Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum)

East African (Little) Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus minor)
Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus gambianus)
Peter’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus crypturus)
Wahlberg’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi)

Dobson’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomops dobsonii)
Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomops franqueti)

Angolan Fruit Bat (Lissonycteris angolensis)
Harrison’s fruit bat, (Lissonycteris goliath)

Dwarf Epauletted Fruit Bat (Micropteropus pusillus)

Little Collared Fruit Bat (Myonycteris torquata)

D’Anchieta’s Fruit Bat (Plerotes anchietae)

Egyptian Rousette Bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus)

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Insectivorous Bats

Vespertilionidae

Flying, insect-eating, most diverse and widely distributed of the genera. The family gets its name from Vespertilio, derived from the Latin word vesper meaning ‘evening’.

Long-tailed Serotine/ House Bat (Eptesicus hottentotus)

Variegated Butterfly Bat (Glauconycteris variegata)

Damara Woolly Bat (Kerivoula argentata)
Lesser Woolly Bat (Kerivoula lanosa)

Botswana Long-eared Bat (Laephotis botswanae)

Thomas’s Flat-headed Bat (Mimetillus moloneyi thomasi)
Moloney’s mimic bat (Mimetillus moloneyi)

Greater Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus infatus)
Lesser Long-fingered/ bent-winged bat (Miniopterus fraterculus)
Natal Long-fingered or Climbing Bat (Miniopterus natalensis)

Bocage’s/ Rufous Mouse-eared Bat (Myotis bocagci)
Temminck’s Mouse-eared/ Cape hairy Bat (Myotis tricolour)
Welwitsch’s Hairy Bat (Myotis welwitschii)

Banana pipistrelle (Neoromicia nanus)
Cape Pipistrelle/ Serotine Bat (Neoromicia capensis)
Melck’s Pipistrelle/ House Bat (Neoromicia melckorum)
Rendall’s Pipistrelle/ Serotine Bat (Neoromicia rendalli)
Zulu Pipistrelle/ Serotine Bat (Neoromicia zuluensis)

Schlieffen’s Twilight Bat (Nycticeinops schlieffeni)

Anchieta’s Pipistrelle Bat (Pipistrellus anchietae)
Dusky or African Pipistrelle Bat (Pipistrellus hesperidus)
Ruppell’s Pipistrelle Bat (Pipistrellus ruppelli)
Rusty Pipistrelle Bat (Pipistrellus rusticus)

Dark-winged Lesser House Bat (Scotoecus hirundo)
Hinde’s lesser house bat, (Scotoecus hindei)
White-bellied Lesser House Bat (Scotoecus albigula)

African yellow-bellied House Bat (Scotophilus dinganii)
Green House/ Greenish yellow Bat (Scotophilus viridis)
White-bellied House Bat (Scotophilus leucogaster)

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Molossidae

Free-tailed bats: This family is generally robust, and consists of many strong-flying forms with relatively long and narrow wings. The free tail gives them a degree of fine-tuning in their flight maneuvers.

Little Free-tailed Bat (Chaerephon pumilus)
Nigerian Free-tailed Bat (Chaerephon nigeriae)
Spotted Free-tailed Bat (Chaerephon bivittatus)
Ansorge’s Free-tailed Bat (Chaerephon ansorgei)
Long-crested Free-tailed Bat (Chaerephon chapini)

Angolan Free-tailed Bat (Mops condylurus)
Midas Free-tailed Bat (Mops midas)
White-bellied Free-tailed Bat (Mops niveiventer)

Large-eared free-tailed bat, (Otomops martiensseni)

African Giant Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida ventralis)
Egyptian Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida aegyptiaca)
Madagascan Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida fulminans)

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Emballonuridae

Sac-winged or sheath-tailed bat: This family has the smallest bats (microbats).

Egyptian Tomb Bat (Taphozous perforatus)
Mauritian Tomb Bat (Taphozous mauritianus)

Nycteridae

Slit-faced or hollow-faced bat: A family of small bats, with large ears, and a complex nose-leaf.

Andersen’s slit-faced bat (Nycteris aurita)
Dja Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris major)
Egyptian Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris thebasica)
Hairy Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris hispida)
Large-eared Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris macrotis)
Large Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris grandis)
Wood’s Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris woodi)

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Megadermatidae

Relatively large bat with large eyes, very large ears and a prominent nose-leaf.

Yellow Winged or False Vampire Bat (Lavia frons)

Rhinolophidae

Horseshoe bat: Have leaf-like, horseshoe-shaped protuberances called nose leafs on their noses.

Percival’s Trident Bat (Cloeotis percivali)

Blasius’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus blasii)
Bushveld Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus simulator)
Darling’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus darlingi)
Geoffroy’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus clivosus)
Hilderbrandt’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hilderbrandtii)
Lander’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus landeri)
Ruppell’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus fumigatus)
Sakeji horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus sakejiensis)
Swinny’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus swinnyi)

Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros ruber)
Striped/ Commerson’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros vittatus)
Sundevall’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros caffer)

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See mammals