Bicolor kozhan is a small-sized bat from the Smooth-nosed family. Outwardly, this animal is not very attractive, but it has an interesting structure and behavioral features that are characteristic only for this species. That is why it is of interest to many animal lovers.
Distribution
Two-color leather is common in the center and west of Europe, in Asia, inhabits the territory of Ukraine. Prefers to settle in forests, in the steppes and mountains. Sometimes found in metropolitan areas. This species is protected in wildlife sanctuaries and reserves around the world, as the threat of its extinction is great. The reason for this situation was global changes in climatic conditions, insecticides, as well as the negativity of people in relation to all types of bats.
Exact data on the number of kozhanovs has not been recorded. They are rather fragmentary. In the summer, the two-colored kozhan inhabits tree hollows, attics, spaces under eaves, rock cracks, etc. Sometimes these mice share their shelter with other bats. They are found in England andFrance, Norway and central Russia, in Iran and China, in the Himalayas. In many regions, the two-tone leather is considered a vulnerable species. The Red Book of the Perm region, for example, was replenished with these animals several years ago.
The species has not been studied enough, but there is an assumption that the two-color leather flies south for wintering. Two wintering places of these animals were found in the Perm region and caves of Bashkiria. There is information about wintering in the caves of the Sverdlovsk region.
Appearance
The two-tone leathern does not exceed six and a half centimeters in length, and its wingspan reaches thirty-three centimeters. The weight of the animal ranges from twelve to twenty-four grams. This mouse on the back has dark brown fur interspersed with red hairs. On the abdomen, it has a grayish tint.
The wings are noticeably narrower, the ears are wide and round. Life expectancy is five to twelve years. The hands are equipped with flying membranes, which are attached at the base of the fingers. The supraocular lobes are strongly developed.
Two-color leather: behavioral features
This animal flies out to hunt half an hour after sunset, but more often with the onset of deep twilight. All night he hunts, flying at a height of about thirty meters above the edges and clearings, along mountain gorges, among trees, over steppes and even over water. The flight is very fast, reminiscent of the flight of vespers.
Two-tone leather hunts usingultrasonic vibrations with a frequency of 25 kHz. When the weather is very cold or windy, the kozhan may miss hunting. In areas where kozhan is widely distributed, it regulates the population of some insects.
Because these bats are quite rare, researchers have not collected enough information. At the time of the birth of the cubs, the females form small colonies, in rare cases, large clusters, which include more than fifty individuals. Groups of males can reach two hundred and fifty animals, but more often they prefer loneliness.
Often, leathers migrate, flying quite long distances (about one and a half thousand kilometers). From October to March, the two-tone kozhan hibernates. These mice hibernate, as a rule, alone and tolerate temperatures down to -2.6 ° C. According to their economic importance, kozhans are recognized as useful animals - they destroy many harmful insects.
Save mode
In recent years, there has been a decrease in the number of these animals. The reason for this is a complex of anthropogenic factors: the limitation of places for settlement in modern buildings, the modernization of old buildings, the sealing of attics, the destruction of a large number of individuals by humans using pesticides used for pest control and wood preservation.
In 2011, this species was added to the Red Book of Ukraine. Kozhan bicolor is protected in all sanctuaries and nature reserves of this country as a vulnerable species prone to population decline. A ban ondisturbance of hibernation and brood colonies. An environmental campaign is underway. Kozhan bicolor is listed in the Red List of EUROBATS, IUCN, as well as in Annex II of the Berne Convention.
