Bats do crawl on the ground, though for most species it is an ungainly, last-resort kind of movement. A handful of bat species are genuinely skilled ground movers, but the vast majority of the world’s roughly 1,400 bat species are so specialized for flight that their legs and feet are poorly suited to terrestrial locomotion. When you see a bat shuffling across the ground, it could be a healthy animal doing exactly what its species evolved to do, or it could be a sick or injured bat in serious trouble. The difference matters, both for the bat and for anyone who encounters it.
How Bats Move on the Ground
Bat limbs are built for the air. Their legs are rotated 180 degrees compared to most mammals, generally reduced in size, and in some species certain leg bones are even absent entirely.1PubMed Central. Comparative morphology and scaling of the femur in yangochiropteran bats This backward rotation is why a grounded bat looks so strange: it cannot walk the way a mouse or a squirrel does. Instead, most bats that find themselves on a flat surface drag themselves forward using their wrists and thumbs, with their folded wings acting as crude forelimbs and their small hind feet pushing or trailing behind. The result is a slow, lurching crawl that leaves the bat vulnerable to predators and dehydration.
But two species break this mold in spectacular fashion. Researchers studying both the common vampire bat and the New Zealand short-tailed bat on treadmills found that these species possess symmetrical walking gaits similar to those seen across a wide range of four-legged animals.2Journal of Experimental Biology. Terrestrial locomotion of the New Zealand short-tailed bat Mystacina tuberculata and the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus These bats do not merely tolerate the ground; they use it as a regular part of their lives. The vampire bat takes things further: at higher speeds it shifts into a bounding gait that includes a dramatic airborne phase between strides, somewhat like the bounding of a small terrestrial mammal but with the roles of the front and back limbs reversed. Its forelimbs, powered by the same heavy flight muscles used for flying, do most of the propulsive work during these bounds.3Journal of Experimental Biology. Terrestrial locomotion of the New Zealand short-tailed bat Mystacina tuberculata and the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus
Why Vampire Bats Are Ground Specialists
The common vampire bat’s ground agility is not a quirky talent; it is central to how the animal feeds. Vampire bats land near a sleeping host, usually livestock or a large wild mammal, and then approach on foot to find a suitable spot to bite. They need to move quickly and quietly across uneven terrain, sometimes on the body of the host itself. Their forelimb-driven bounding lets them accelerate fast enough to dodge a kick or escape a suddenly alert animal. On the treadmill, vampire bats reached bounding speeds of over one meter per second, with their forelimbs bearing more of the ground-contact time and their hindlimbs spending less than half the stride touching down.3Journal of Experimental Biology. Terrestrial locomotion of the New Zealand short-tailed bat Mystacina tuberculata and the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus
The New Zealand short-tailed bat has a different reason for being comfortable on the ground. It is one of only two land mammals native to New Zealand (the other being another bat), and it evolved in an environment with almost no ground-dwelling mammalian predators. This ecological freedom allowed it to become a dedicated ground forager, rummaging through leaf litter for insects, fruit, nectar, and pollen. Its lifestyle is so terrestrial that researchers studying its home range tracked it moving across the forest floor over large distances.
Ground Foraging in Other Bat Species
The vampire bat and the New Zealand short-tailed bat are the standout terrestrial specialists, but many other species regularly land on the ground or on surfaces like rocks, tree trunks, and walls to capture prey. This foraging strategy, called substrate gleaning, involves locating insects or other small animals resting on a surface and swooping down to grab them. Substrate-gleaning bats use a combination of echolocation, prey-generated sounds, and vision to pinpoint their targets.4PubMed. Adaptations for Substrate Gleaning in Bats: The Pallid Bat as a Case Study
The pallid bat of western North America is a well-studied example. It relies heavily on passive sound localization to capture ground-dwelling prey like crickets, beetles, and scorpions, listening for the rustling and movement sounds its prey makes rather than depending entirely on echolocation.5PubMed. Passive sound localization of prey by the pallid bat (Antrozous p. pallidus) Landing on the ground to hunt brings certain risks. At least two gleaning bat species are known to prey on highly venomous scorpions, suggesting that the payoff of ground hunting is substantial enough to justify the danger.4PubMed. Adaptations for Substrate Gleaning in Bats: The Pallid Bat as a Case Study
Mouse-eared bats in Europe also forage near the ground. Species like Myotis myotis and Myotis blythii use echolocation throughout their approach to prey on the ground, but adopt what researchers call “whispering echolocation” as they get close, emitting very faint calls. This may prevent their own sonar from drowning out the sounds the prey is making, and may also help them avoid alerting prey that can hear ultrasound.6PubMed. Echolocation and passive listening by foraging mouse-eared bats Myotis myotis and M. blythii The long-eared bat takes a different approach altogether: during gleaning attacks, it often stops calling entirely in the final moments before striking. Echolocation calls were detected in only about two-thirds of gleaning sequences, and when calls were emitted, the bat stopped calling roughly 200 milliseconds before the attack.7PubMed. Substrate-gleaning versus aerial-hawking: plasticity in the foraging and echolocation behaviour of the long-eared bat, Myotis evotis The bat essentially goes silent for the final pounce, relying on its other senses to close the distance.
Getting Airborne Again
For any bat that ends up on the ground, the critical next step is getting back into the air. Most bats cannot simply run along the ground and gradually lift off the way a bird might. Instead, they jump. Research on five different bat species found that all of them used a similar launching technique: they pushed off the ground using the wrist joints of their wings, with their feet typically already off the ground before the jump was complete.8PubMed Central. No apparent ecological trend to the flight-initiating jump performance of five bat species In other words, bats launch themselves into the air with their arms, not their legs.
Larger bats produced more jump force and left the ground at higher speeds than smaller ones, but once you accounted for body size, the differences mostly vanished. The researchers concluded that a bat’s jumping ability is essentially a secondary benefit of having powerful flight muscles, not an independently evolved skill. Flight so completely dominates bat body design that other forms of locomotion are, in a sense, just flight hardware being repurposed.8PubMed Central. No apparent ecological trend to the flight-initiating jump performance of five bat species This is one reason bats prefer to roost in elevated positions like cave ceilings, cliff crevices, or tree branches. Dropping into the air from a height is a much simpler way to begin flying than jumping off a flat surface.
Some species are meticulous about finding the right roost for exactly this reason. Western pipistrelle bats, for instance, roost primarily in cracks and crevices in cliff faces. Observers watching bats return to large cliffs at daybreak noted that some individuals flew straight in without hesitation, while others engaged in a searching behavior before settling on a crevice to enter.9Oxford Academic (Journal of Mammalogy). Roosting Habits of Pipistrellus hesperus A roost in a vertical rock face means the bat can simply release its grip and fall into flight when it leaves.
When a Grounded Bat Means Trouble
If you find a bat crawling on the ground in a place where ground foraging is unlikely, particularly in daylight, the animal is probably in distress. Bats end up grounded for several reasons: injury from storms or collisions with buildings, exhaustion during migration, dehydration, being knocked down by a predator, or disease. Young bats that have not yet mastered flight sometimes fall from roost sites.
The disease concern that draws the most public-health attention is rabies. While the overall prevalence of rabies in wild bat populations is low, a bat found on the ground is far more likely to be rabid than one flying normally overhead. A study of wild-caught Brazilian free-tailed bats found that 92% of grounded individuals tested positive for rabies virus.10PubMed Central. Naturally acquired rabies virus infections in wild-caught bats That does not mean every grounded bat is rabid, but the number underscores why wildlife agencies consistently advise people never to handle a grounded bat with bare hands. Rabies is transmitted through bites and scratches, and a sick bat may bite defensively even when it appears too weak to move. Thick leather gloves or calling a local wildlife rehabilitator are the standard recommendations.
White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease caused by the cold-loving fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is another major reason bats end up behaving abnormally, including being found on the ground or outside roosts during winter. The fungus grows on the skin of hibernating bats and disrupts their ability to stay in torpor, causing them to wake up repeatedly and burn through their fat reserves. Affected bats sometimes crawl toward cave entrances or emerge outdoors in freezing weather because the irritation drives abnormal arousal. Research has shown that bats hibernating in locations with very cold or intermittently freezing temperatures may experience less fungal growth, potentially reducing mortality, but many traditional hibernation sites sit right in the temperature range that favors the fungus.11Journal of Mammalogy. The Milieu Souterrain Superficiel as hibernation habitat for bats: implications for white-nose syndrome
What to Do if You Find a Bat on the Ground
The instinct to help a grounded bat is understandable, but the most important first step is to keep your distance and assess the situation. A bat that is crawling purposefully in the evening near a known foraging area may be a healthy gleaner going about its business. A bat lying still or moving sluggishly on a sidewalk in broad daylight is a different story entirely.
For a bat that seems sick, injured, or disoriented, the safest course of action is to call your local animal control or a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. If the bat needs to be moved to protect it from immediate danger (a busy walkway, a curious pet), use thick gloves or slide a piece of cardboard underneath it and place it in a ventilated container. Never pick up a bat with bare skin, and never attempt to feed it or give it water unless instructed by a wildlife professional. If anyone has been bitten or scratched, contact a physician immediately, as post-exposure treatment for rabies is time-sensitive and highly effective when started promptly.
One persistent myth is that a bat on the ground simply needs to be tossed into the air to help it fly. While healthy bats can launch from the ground using their wing-wrist jump, a sick or injured bat tossed into the air may fall and sustain further injury. Placing it gently on a rough vertical surface like a tree trunk, where it can climb to a suitable height and take off on its own terms, is far safer if you have been advised to help it move. But again, if you are unsure, leave it for a professional.
Why Most Bats Never Evolved Good Ground Skills
It is reasonable to wonder why, if being able to walk is so useful, more bats have not evolved better ground locomotion. The answer lies in how thoroughly flight reshaped the bat body plan. Bat hindlimbs became small and rotated to support the wing membrane and allow hanging. Their femur bones scaled differently from those of terrestrial mammals, reflecting the reduced load-bearing role of the legs.1PubMed Central. Comparative morphology and scaling of the femur in yangochiropteran bats Meanwhile, the forelimbs became enormously elongated wing struts, fantastic for generating lift but awkward as walking legs. The energetic and structural trade-offs of flight are so extreme that ground locomotion became, for most lineages, an evolutionary afterthought.
Researchers studying the origin of bat flight have used comparative methods to test the idea that bats evolved from gliding ancestors. Recent phylogenetic analyses suggest an evolutionary pathway in which a glider-like body shape preceded the bat-like body plan adapted for powered flight.12PubMed Central. Gliding toward an understanding of the origin of flight in bats If bats did go through a gliding stage, their ancestors might once have been quite comfortable moving along branches and trunks, before the pressures of powered flight drove their limbs into a configuration that made walking impractical. The transition from gliding to flapping flight has been described as deceptively simple-looking on the surface but involving substantial reconfiguration of the skeleton and musculature.13PubMed. The evolution of flight in bats: narrowing the field of plausible hypotheses
The few species that retained or re-evolved strong ground locomotion did so because their ecological circumstances demanded it. Vampire bats needed stealth on the ground to feed. The New Zealand short-tailed bat filled a niche normally occupied by mice and shrews. Gleaning bats needed to land briefly on surfaces to snatch prey. For the overwhelming majority of bat species, however, the sky provides food, safety, and efficiency that the ground simply cannot match, and their bodies reflect that priority absolutely.
Bats on Buildings and Other Human Structures
People most commonly encounter crawling bats not in the wild but around homes and commercial buildings. Bats that roost in attics, behind shutters, or under roof tiles sometimes crawl along walls, window screens, and even interior ceilings. This is normal roosting behavior rather than a sign of distress. Many bat species are crevice dwellers by nature, and human buildings offer an abundance of tight gaps that mimic the rock crevices and bark peels bats evolved to exploit. A bat crawling across the exterior of a brick wall at dusk is likely heading to or from its roost.
Problems arise when bats enter living spaces, either through gaps in weatherproofing or by getting lost during their nightly exit from an attic colony. A bat fluttering around a bedroom at night is not aggressive; it is panicked and trying to find a way out. Opening a window and closing the door to the rest of the house will usually solve the problem. The concern, once again, is incidental contact. A person who wakes up to find a bat in the room should consult a physician about potential rabies exposure, because bat bites can be small enough to go unnoticed during sleep.
Bat exclusion from buildings is best done outside of maternity season, typically late spring through midsummer in the Northern Hemisphere, because sealing entry points while flightless pups are inside the roost will trap and kill them. One-way exclusion devices that allow bats to leave but not re-enter are the standard humane method. Many bat species are protected by law, and lethal control is both illegal and ecologically counterproductive given the enormous quantities of insects bats consume nightly.