Competition to propose date for the Lesser horseshoe bat Valentine.

The question had a trap in it. And the trap was tricky enough to catch some of the participants. Bats have an interesting feature of the delay in getting pregnant after the copulation.

The young should be well fed before Winter, and as the time is short, most profitable are the earliest birth and mating times. However, as one of the participants (Anna Pawełczyk) stated: [Spring, just after hibernation, when bats are weak and hungry is not a perfect time for mating].

Katerina Nemcova from Czech Republic wrote: "As the Valentine happens right before the hibernation period, it would not be very convenient for  the bat ladies to give birth during deep winter when there is no food available. Therefore, they developed the ability to preserve the sperm in their uterus in inactive state during the winter sleep. When the spring comes, the eggs are fertilized and the baby bat boom can start 2,5 months later"

Thank all the participants for their interesting answers and proposed dates for the Horseshoe Valentine. The proposal of 14 October seems most appropriate as it is the top of the mating season and the 14 reflects the date of our Valentine in February.

The randomly selected winners are Ewa Dąbrowska and Justyna Adamus, who receive project T-shirts and gadgets Additionally, a recognition for the most comprehensive explanation of the phenomenon has been awarded to Anna Pawełczyk.

We congratulate the winners and all who gave excellent answers and invite to our regular, monthly competitions.