The population of rare bats in Buckfastleigh, Devon, has “plummeted,” according to Be Buckfastleigh, a local community group.
Pam Barrett, the group’s director, has been monitoring the protected greater horseshoe bats for about a decade.
Normally, around 1,000 bats are observed at this time of year, but earlier in 2023, only about 20 were counted.
Ms Barrett said: “Buckfastleigh has been the biggest maternal roost of horseshoe bats in all of Europe and it typically has two to three thousand horseshoe bats.
“Normally at this time of year we would expect to see a thousand or so great horseshoe bats emerging and flying quite spectacularly down the rivers.
“But this year has been very different; the numbers have been very small and earlier this year we were counting as few as 20 when we would expect to see 1,000. It has been a little bit alarming.”
The Vincent Wildlife Trust, which manages the bats’ roosts, and the Devon Wildlife Trust, which recognises the bats as a “highly protected” species, have both expressed concern over the dramatic decline.
“There is a likelihood there have been owls predating on the bats which have managed to get into the roosts,” said Ms Barrett.
“That may have disturbed the great horseshoes that live and have their babies there and the thinking at the moment is the bats have fled.
“They would have probably gone around June time, so a couple of thousands of bats are somewhere else, probably in South Devon.”
She added: “The bat conservation groups are trying to establish where the bats have moved to but it is unlikely that all 2,000 have moved to one roost.
“It may well be they have moved to a number of smaller roosts.”
Barrett is calling on local bat groups to report any increases in greater horseshoe bat numbers to the Vincent Wildlife Trust.
Volunteers in Buckfastleigh are currently using bat detectors to determine how many bats remain in the area, as these bats are still active in autumn before hibernating for the winter.
“We are really keen to see these bats return because they will be very much missed if they don’t return to the roost,” she said.
“It just shows how important the roost is to the population in Britain.
The greater horseshoe bat, a rare species with a wingspan of up to 10 inches, is known for its bird-like gliding movement, similar to starlings, rather than the more common flapping of wings.
She added: “Greater horseshoes are called that because they have an adapted flap of skin around their noses which allows them to, I believe, focus their echolocation and tune into their prey.
“They are very distinctive, not that you will see their faces when they are flying past you.”
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