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Survey finds bat population thriving



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Published Date: 14 October 2008
MORE than 350 bats have been discovered at a site in Fife, making it one of the largest roosts discovered on National Trust for Scotland (NTS) property.
The charity, which has been carrying out a bat survey at 17 of its sites, discovered the huge roost at Hill of Tarvit.

During the project, conservation specialists say they discovered plenty of evidence of healthy bat populations.

They found 14 new roosts, housing a total of more than 500 bats, at eight properties, including Culross in Fife and Harmoney Garden in Melrose.

Lindsay Mackinlay, a nature conservation adviser at NTS, said it was a sign some bat species are starting to recover.

Bat experts and volunteers recorded more than 1,200 bats from species ranging from soprano pipistrelle, bandit pipistrelle and long-eared varieties. All 17 UK species are legally protected due to declines in numbers.



The full article contains 149 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 13 October 2008 9:59 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

jerrymanders,

14/10/2008 01:57:09
Not so good news for the moths...
2

Guga II,

Rockall 14/10/2008 06:15:38
I thought global warming was killing everything off?
3

Angoos,

Baku, Azerbaijan 14/10/2008 06:35:32
C'mon the BATS !!!
4

SouthernSkye,

14/10/2008 07:01:55
#2. Indeed, although, I bet we soon learn, that we have more bat species from hotter climes which will indicate the continuing trend of GW !
5

Guga II,

Rockall 14/10/2008 07:48:34
#4. Then where are all the bikini clad dolly birds from hotter climes?
6

nabodican,

Rural Scotland 14/10/2008 07:58:55
I would like to know why bats are a protected species when they are the last thing you would want in your loft. They smell something rotten,their urine and droppings are a health hazard and if you get bitten by one you can catch limes disease and die.
7

Boy Wonder,

14/10/2008 09:03:03
#6. nabodican ... the bat is a wonder of nature. It keeps down the insect and rodent population, it gave us (albeit in a roundabout way) sonar and radar and its droppings (guano)can be used on indoor and outdoor plants, applied the same way as any other fertiliser. It can also be used by hydroponic gardeners, by mixing it with water. Added to topsoil it can be used for laying lawns, turf and seed, and for planting trees and shrubs. Guano that is heavy in nitrogen is good for growth, when heavy in phosphorus it is good for developing buds.

On the other hand ... they will drink your blood and make you near-immortal, but you can never go out in the day and must lie in your coffin in your native soil.

But the benefits of guano do outweight a little touch of vampirism ... don't they???



8

Miss Pixie,

formerly of Dinleyhaughfoot Cottage, Roxburghshire 14/10/2008 11:26:12
#7/ Boy Wonder: that was well-stated! "Nabodican" sounds ignorant and therefor hysterical.
9

Nomada,

14/10/2008 13:24:11
Nabodican #6 is suffering from serious delusions about his local wildlife. A few weeks ago he was telling the world how his Otters decimate lambs. Now he has told us that bats 'smell something rotten' (they don't); 'their urine and droppings are a health hazard' (they are not, even if you ate and drank them); and 'if you get bitten by one you can catch limes disease and die' (it is Lyme disease, which is in any case carried by ticks, not bats).

One species of British bat - Daubenton's - does carry the potentially fatal EBL virus, a form of rabies, from which one person has died in UK. Tragic as that death was, it would have been avoided had the bat worker followed the standard safety procedures when handling bats.

Nabodican - you are, as Miss Pixie wrote, ignorant, or perhaps 'bats'.

'He who knows not and knows not he knows not, he is a fool'. That's you mate!

 

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