Bats (Chiroptera) at winter sites in Karelia Republic

The paper presents field data on bats wintering in the Republic of Karelia. There was no such research conducted in Karelia before. For the first time there have been inspected bat hibernacula, determined their species composition, spatial distribution, mortality rate and observed the general regularities and regional peculiarities of bat wintering. The obtained data provide better understanding of adaptations of bats to the ecological conditions of the North.