Conservation of Bats

Agreement on the Conservation of Bats in Europe (Eurobats) (1991)

Note: there is an Agreement on the Conservation of Population of European Bats. The Agreement entered into force on 16 January 1994. As of January 2015, 36 of 63 Range States are Parties to the Agreement.

Importance of bat conservation

Bats migrate. Some not just to the next field, forest or barn, but thousands of miles away. Some bats have been recorded travelling from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and even Finland to Northern Spain or Italy.

Bats are the only mammals that can fly. They find their way around by combining their acute sight with echolocation. Bats emit calls and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from objects in their vicinity. They use these echoes to find and hunt their prey and to navigate and avoid collisions. All bats can also see – they are not blind.

Bats eat flies, moths and other insects and thereby control insect populations very effectively. Some bats also serve as pollinators and seed dispersers of many plants that are important to humans.

Bat populations are one of the best natural indicators of the health of our environment. This is because bats flourish where an ecosystem is healthy and stable.

To scotch some myths…

In Europe there are no vampire bats and only one fruit-eating bat (the Egyptian fruit bat that belongs to the sub-order Megachiroptera). In fact, only 3 of the more than 1200 species of bat worldwide are vampire bats.

Less than 1% of bats have rabies so the likelihood of contracting rabies from a bat is extremely low. Bats do not attack humans and would only bite a person to defend themselves. Nevertheless, if handling a bat one should always wear protective gloves.

Threats to Bats’ Survival

Many European bats are under threat and some have even become extinct in certain countries. The reasons for this are mainly:

– loss of roosts
– loss of feeding areas
– increased use of pesticides in agriculture that that kill the insects that the bats depend on for food
– increased use of pesticides in building materials, that poison the bats that roost in treated buildings
– prejudices against bats and misunderstandings arising from an ignorance of bats.

Protected Bat Species

Here are the 53 bat species occurring in the EUROBATS area and listed under the Agreement.

Emballonuridae

Taphozous nudiventris

Molossidae

Tadarida teniotis

Pteropodidae

Rousettus aegyptiacus

Rhinolophidae

Rhinolophus ferrumequinum

Rhinolophus hipposideros

Rhinolophus blasii

Rhinolophus euryale

Rhinolophus mehelyi

Vespertilionidae

Barbastella barbastellus

Barbastella darjelingensis

Eptesicus anatolicus

Eptesicus bottae

Eptesicus isabellinus

Eptesicus nilssonii

Eptesicus serotinus

Hypsugo savii

Miniopterus pallidus

Miniopterus schreibersii

Myotis alcathoe

Myotis aurascens

Myotis bechsteinii

Myotis blythii

Myotis brandtii

Myotis capaccinii

Myotis dasycneme

Myotis daubentonii

Myotis emarginatus

Myotis escalerai

Myotis myotis

Myotis mystacinus

Myotis nattereri

Myotis nipalensis

Myotis punicus

Myotis schaubi

Nyctalus azoreum

Nyctalus lasiopterus

Nyctalus leisleri

Nyctalus noctula

Otonycteris hemprichii

Pipistrellus hanaki

Pipistrellus kuhlii

Pipistrellus maderensis

Pipistrellus nathusii

Pipistrellus pipistrellus

Pipistrellus pygmaeus

Plecotus auritus

Plecotus austriacus

Plecotus kolombatovici

Plecotus macrobullaris

Plecotus sardus

Plecotus teneriffae

Vespertilio murinus