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Wednesday, February 12, 2025

An “extraordinary discovery” could change the fate of the loneliest bat

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Britain's loneliest bat may soon find a mate. For many years, the male greater bat was considered the only representative of its species on the Islands. In January, researchers managed to observe a female of this species, the first one since the 1980s.

big night (Myotis myotis) is a species almost extinct in Great Britain. For recent decades, researchers have been certain that only one individual lives there permanently, first observed in 2002. Every winter, a male from Sussex in southern England hibernated alone in a disused railway tunnel.

In 2023, it turned out that the aging individual was not completely alone – scientists observed another male, which most likely flew from France for a period of hibernation. In January this year, researchers made a discovery that may change the future of this species in Great Britain.

Hope for the bat

While researching in the South Downs National Park, Bat Conservation Trust volunteers came across a young female. This is the first such case since the 1980s, when the last British population of greater bats became extinct. The animal was ringed and examined – the female was of reproductive age, but it was not possible to determine whether she already had offspring.

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– Finding the female is a rewarding and extraordinary discovery that brings great hope for this species – said ecologist Daniel Whitby, founder of the Bat Conservation and Research Unit, in an interview with the British Guardian.

Great bat (Myotis myotis) – photo illustrativeLubomir Dajc/Shutterstock

The discovery is important because the old male from Sussex once regularly appeared in the area where the female hibernates. Now scientists hope to see it again. This individual has always had a tendency to wander long distances – for almost two decades it wintered in its favorite place, only to fly away in the summer to an unknown direction. At some point, however, it began to disappear for an entire year – scientists last saw it in 2023.

They can be found in Poland

The great bats fully deserve their name – their wingspan reaches almost half a meter. These animals hunt in a rather unusual way – they fly close to the ground, searching for prey, mainly insects. During migration, they can cover over 200 kilometers. In Poland, they occur mainly in the south of the country, but a large colony also lives in the Nietoperek reserve in the Lubusz Voivodeship.

The Guardian, Bat Conservation Trust, Ziemia Międzyrzecka

Main photo source: Lubomir Dajc/Shutterstock



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