Nine species of bats are known to occur in Michigan. The two most common species are the big brown bat and little brown bat. These two species are also the most likely to contact humans because they readily use human structures for nursery and wintering areas. Michigan also has two rare species, the eastern pipestrelle (listed as special concern) and the Indiana bat (federally endangered). Because of the areas these bats inhabit, neither is likely to be associated with rabies transmission to humans.   Though there are not good quantitative estimates of bat populations, the proportion of the bat population that is positive for rabies is estimated to be less than 1%.

This page is maintained by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources