The northern long-eared bat is a wide-ranging, federally endangered bat species, found in 37 states and eight provinces in North America. The species typically overwinters in caves or mines and spends the remainder of the year in forested habitats. As its name suggests, the northern long-eared bat is distinguished by its long ears, particularly as compared to other bats in the genus Myotis.

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Northern long-eared bats are called "whispering bats" because they can   echolocate very quietly to sneak up on insects that can hear normal echolocation calls.  Their  wings are shaped differently than other myotis bats, which makes them slow fliers but also makes them very good at navigating through forests and hovering to catch insects on plants.

Although there are many threats to the species, the predominant threat by far is white-nose syndrome. If this disease had not emerged, it is unlikely the northern long-eared bat would be experiencing such a dramatic population decline.  Since symptoms were first observed in New York in 2006, white-nose syndrome has spread rapidly throughout the species' range in the United States. Numbers of northern long-eared bats, gathered from hibernacula counts, have declined by 97 to 100% across the species’ range.