The Kingdom of Bats

Amultitude of caves and other speleological sites in Serbia are among the most important roosts for bats. Many of them are host to the last kingdoms of these small, useful and threatened nocturnal mammals.

Their appearance, morphological, physiological and behavioral traits make bats among the most wonderful and interesting creatures on Earth. They are the only group of mammals capable of active flying. About a thousand different types of this highly-adaptive group have been identified so far. They inhabit all land regions of the Earth, except for the extreme northern and southern parts of the planet.

As many as thirty types live in Europe alone, in almost all kinds of land roosts. They are small nocturnal mammals that orientate themselves and hunt in the dark by applying ultrasound waves. They feed on nocturnal insects, thereby regulating their numbers. In this respect they play an important and useful role in the eco-system. Over the past few decades their numbers have dramatically declined so that the species as a whole has become threatened due to a variety of anthropogenic influences. The major reasons for their dwindling numbers is the degradation of their roosts (which leads to loss of food source and places to hide and dwell), poisoning and contamination from high levels of pesticides and other chemicals, direct killing and disruption in their habitat.

All bats in Europe have been placed under protection. A total of twenty-six kinds of bats have been recorded in Serbia so far, and have all been placed under protection as natural rarities by the Serbian government. These bats’ roosts are found in caves and other underground places, hollow tree trunks and buildings. Their major roosts are speleological sites, which number over one thousand in Serbia. In 1999, the Institute for Nature Conservation launched a special project involving bio-speleological research with a view towards protecting these sites and their living world. A group of speleologists and bio-speleologists from the Institute toured a large number of caves, pits and undercuts throughout Serbia. The author of this text is a member of a biospeleological team engaged in studying and protecting bats. This article is a brief summary of the research conducted thus far.

Smaller and larger groups of bats were found in a number of speleological sites, while some caves host larger colonies that are the last kingdoms of these threatened species in Europe. The main goal of the research was to collect data on extant species, record their numbers with seasonal variation, and document problems pertaining to their protection. The results of this research are impressive because we discovered a larger number of significant sites where rare and threatened species roost. These sites have, until now, remained unknown.

Over the last five decades, experts have identified twenty-one types of bats in speleological sites in Serbia. Ten types live in caves frequently or exclusively. The other eleven types come to caves occasionally or rarely; for the most part in winter, when they hibernate. It is noteworthy that these eleven types of bats are listed on the World Red List as globally endangered species.

Serbia’s caves host larger and smaller populations of eight globally endangered species: the Blasius’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus blasii), Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus euryale), Greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros), Schreiber’s bat (Miniopterus schreibersii), Long-fingered bat (Myotis capaccinii), Geoffroy’s bat (Myotis emarginatus), Greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis).

The bats are for the most part safe in their speleological sites. Still, in some caves, visitors often disturb, kill or catch bats. The existing protection of bats in these locations is for the most part administrative and general (their roosts are protected), and in recent years there have been drives to introduce active protection.

Protection of bats in significant speleological sites in Serbia has been given high priority so as to protect this very interesting, useful and threatened species from further disappearing in their last remaining roosts.