Bats are the second most diverse mammalian order with highly varied welfare needs across species, and their captive management requires specific attention to nocturnal lifestyle, echolocation, and social complexity.
Bat welfare in zoos is species-dependent to an unusual degree given the extraordinary diversity of the order. Fruit bats require large flight enclosures with abundant varied fruiting plants and appropriate social groups. Insectivorous bats need live insect feeding and acoustically appropriate environments for echolocation. The nocturnal lifestyle of most species means daytime viewing creates a mismatch between natural activity patterns and public exhibit schedules — reversed-lighting exhibits are a welfare-positive solution that allows natural behavior during viewing hours. Investment in appropriate, species-specific bat welfare enables zoos to contribute to bat conservation education at a time when bat populations face severe declines from disease and habitat loss.