| PARTI COLOURED BAT. A Bat Rescue with a happy ending. |
Story By Helen Miller |
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The bat was found in a London
hospital Car park in Whitechapel (in December 2008) and taken to a wildlife
hospital. The hospital thought it was a Leisler’s and continued to feed
and look after the bat over the winter. This very overweight bat was then
passed to Daniel Hargreaves who identified it as a Parti Coloured Bat.
Daniel and myself liaised with Defra (who need to be contacted in cases of
potential “illegal landings”). But I'm pleased to report that all
signs pointed to this bat (which is not a native species) having found its way
to the UK and to the Whitechapel car park all by itself. Having spoken to a bat
expert in Sussex (Tony Hutson) who collates Parti Coloured Bat records he said
he had no doubt that it found its way there by itself, being a large bat known
for its ability to undertake long migration. We have had other records of this
species being found in the UK in recent years but have normally been found
nearer to the coast (e.g. Isle of Wight a few years back). So this record was
definitely a little on the strange side.
The bat was passed to Jan Ragg and released where it was found a few weeks a
go!
A happy ending indeed. |
| This species of bat has a twittering call, similar to a
bird's, and are to be heard particularly in the autumn during the mating
season. The parti-coloured bat has a maximum body size of 6.4 centimeters with
a span from 27 to 33 centimeters, and a weight between 12 and 23 gram. Its name
is derived from its fur, which has two colours. Its backside is red to
dark-brown, with silver-white-frosted hair. The ventral side is white or gray.
The ears, wings and the face are black or dark brown. The wings are narrow. The
ears are short, broad and roundish. The highest known age is twelve years.
These bats hunt for their prey, for example mosquitoes, caddis flies, and
moths, with ultrasonic sound of around 25-27 kHz. They hunt after twilight at
heights of above 10 to 20 meters, for example in open landscape over streams
and lakes and above forests or at street lights. In cold weather the bat may
remain in its resting place. There is not much known about the behavior of
parti-coloured bats, as they are quite rare. Female bats live in small groups,
of about 50 animals, sometimes up to several hundred adult females. In Western
Europe, male groups consist of about 250 animals and are found only during the
spring and early summer. These bats migrate, and flights of up to 900 km were
found. The furthest migration was determined at 1440 km in the year 1989.
Between October and March, the bats hibernate. They hibernate alone, and can
bear temperatures down to -2.6 degrees Celsius. Females form maternity roosts
during May and July and generally give birth to twins. After the pups are
weaned females leave the maternity roost. Birth of the young is in western
Europe around beginning of June. First juveniles can be found flying as early
as 3-4 weeks . The parti-coloured bat occurs in Central and Western Europe and
in Asia. Its natural habitat is mountains, steppes and forested areas, but in
Western Europe, they can mainly be found in cities. The species is protected,
as it is threatened by insecticides and changes in their habitat. |
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