It’s official, rare bats are batty about the Isle of Wight.
A study carried out by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the Environment Agency has revealed that the Isle of Wight now holds the record for the most colonies of two rare breeds of bats, the Bechsteins and Barbastelles.
Researcher Ian Davidson-Watts, who led the survey, says: “The results of this study have confirmed the Isle of Wight as the UK’s, and possibly Europe’s, centre for these rare woodland bats. The Island is of critical importance to the conservation of these species on an international level, and every effort should be made to ensure their habitat is appropriately protected.”
Ian and a group of volunteers from the Isle of Wight Bat Group have been studying the island bat population, by harmlessly trapping them, recording sex and breeding status and fitting some with radio transmitters, so that they could be tracked to gather further information.
Tim Sykes, Environment Agency Area Biodiversity Technical Specialist, said: “We are very pleased to support such a worthwhile project and it is great news that woodland bat populations are currently thriving on the Isle of Wight. We will now use the information from the survey to inform our work and the activities of others that we regulate.”
For more info about the good work of the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, check out their Web site.
Image: Doug Bowman
