Bat of the year in 2018

Dear readers and bat enthusiasts!

Today, on December 6th, 2017, the Lilieci.ro portal celebrates 1 year of activity. During this time we have achieved many things together, and we hope that we will continue at this pace. To celebrate this anniversary, we invite you to take part in choosing the “Bat of the year 2018” in Romania.

This designation exists in several European countries, and is based on the importance of the bat species for our environment, or on its research aspects. Sometimes the species is designated due to cross-border links, such as seasonal migration, that does not take into account classical boundaries. At the same time, the designation has a role in raising awareness about the species among the general public. Public involvement is essential in protecting bats and the environment, and the chance to choose freely, to vote for a favorite is a universal necessity.

In 2017, we jointly given the title of “Bat of the year” to the brown long-eared bat. In November 2017 there was a simple debate and a pre-selection within the community of bats experts from Romania, where we agreed on three species of bats (out of a total of 32). They became the three finalists for this second edition of the competition. They are:

Pipistrelles are small in size, about the size of your thumb. Their fur is brown, the ears and nose are blackish. They are quite common, adapting well to the urban environment. Nursery colonies use hollow trees in the summer, or even cracks below tress barks, and also lofts of buildings. In the winter period they hibernatee in wall cracks, caves or other underground roosts. In Romania the species forms some of the largest hibernation colonies in Europe, which like living carpets on the ceiling of caves number thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of bats.

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Due to the fact that pipistrelles are common in the urban environment, they can often get into direct conflicts with people, tenants and building owners. The intentional or uninformed destruction of roosts endangers the species. Similarly, another threat factor is the excessive use of insecticides, which, through the food sources of the species, ends up in their metabolism and can lead to increased mortality. The huge colonies in caves (ex. in Romanian caves) are threatened by speoturism in the critical seasons. A responsible tourism is recommended, meaning the avoidance of speleological tourism during the winter period (November 1 – March 31).

Both species are similar in size, large and robust (hence their common name of “large Myotis”), being among the largest species of bats in Romania. Both have long and wide muzzles and long ears, although not as long as the bat of the year in 2017. Throughout the year, large Myotis use similar roosts both in summer and winter. They often form mixed colonies, with specimens from both species present. Summer roosts are usually in lofts or towers of buildings often with high temperatures (of over 30 degrees), and they particularly like churches. In Romania we also know numerous nursery colonies in caves. During the winter we encounter them most often in caves, where they can either hibernate solitary, or form groups of different sizes, from a few dozen to several hundred bats.

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Large Myotis are vulnerable species whose known populations have declined over the past two decades. Nursery colonies in the spacious lofts of representative buildings (churches, mansions, etc.) are significantly affected by renovations that do not take account of the principles of bat conservation. By concentrating populations (respectively females and pups of the next generation) in a few roosts, whole populations depend only on the attitude of people or entities that perform the renovation of these buildings. This despite the fact that there are a number of methods that allow both for the protection of buildings and that of colonies. Speotourism in caves of chiropterological importance, respectively in critical seasons can negatively affect colonies. Hence, the principles of responsible cave tourism must be applied.

The species can be rarely seen, and exclusively in caves or other underground shelters (ex. mines, bunkers). It hunts in a variety of habitats, from deciduous forests, steppe areas, pastures, sometimes farmland, and shows a clear preference for open habitats.

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In Romania there were large colonies (thousands of specimens) of R. mehelyi in Dobrogea in the past, but these have been significantly reduced in the present days (a few colonies of dozens of bats), due to the expansion of agricultural areas and the use of insecticides. Although new colonies and distribution areas have recently been discovered, the preferred habitats of the species (deciduous forests, steppe areas, etc.) remain threatened. The species, being very sensitive, can be affected by the disturbance and degradation of underground roosts, but also by the loss of feeding habitats (pastures, meadows). The total European population is around 50,000 bats, while the Romania population is likely to be less than 1,000 bats.