Do you know bats have been persecuted due to myths and fear, yet they contribute to essential ecosystem services? Some of these include feeding on insects/pests that could transmit diseases. In so doing, they reduce the use of agro-based chemicals (pesticides), contribute to food security and human health interventions, pollinate flowers including those of baobabs, disperse seeds, offer guano (nutrient-rich manure) among others? In a night, one bat can consume/eat over 500 mosquitoes and other insects.
And do you know bats are the second most diverse taxa (rodents are the most diverse), with close to 1,400 bat species? For example in Kenya alone, there have been 51 species recorded on iNaturalist with an observation of a Kenyan Bent-winged Bat (Miniopterus sp.) and its Nycteribiid Bat Fly (Family Nycteribiidae) parasite, @macykrishnamoorthy (below) was the observation of the week in early Feburary 2021! you can check out the amazing diversity of African Bats via the iNaturalist project 'AfriBats'.
We thus need to know more about them through active research, conserve their habitats and create awareness among communities and youth. I would like to invite you to check out the project 'Saving Harrison’s Giant Mastiff Bat at Mt Suswa Conservancy' this project will work with the Mt Suswa Conservancy, which is an indigenous organisation that manages over 5,000 ha in the spectacular mountainous area with a unique double crater system in Kenya's Rift Valley.
The project Mt. Suswa (Kenya) bats - Harrison's Giant Mastiff Bat is currently running second in The European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) funding from the process would really help this project. As only one project, with the highest votes, wins please read through the candidates and cast a vote here.
I have been lucky to observe some bat researchers using harp nets to catch microbats. I am amazed by their tiny size, incredible miniature nocturnal predators.
So many species of Bat I never knew.there were so many