Bats are one of the most ecologically important creatures. Their roles as pollinators, seed dispersers and insect controllers are indispensable for any ecosystem. While there are hundreds of bat species in India, most of us may be familiar with only one bat species – the Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus). These large frugivorous bats have in some way learnt to live amongst us often roosting in large trees well within the vicinity of human settlements. The rest of the bat species can hardly be seen during the daytime as they find shelter in the most inconspicuous areas. Thus the flying fox is the only bat that anybody sees and hence they are perfect candidates for being brand ambassadors of the bat community.
While they are gentle creatures in reality, our culture often depicts bats differently. They are often persecuted because of rumours that they are disease carriers. In actual reality, they are indispensable to our way life because they play an active role in seed dispersal thus maintaining the floral diversity of our neighborhoods. We would rather call them as “night gardeners”.
While the truth is obvious , the reality often does not reflect it. “The flying fox, also known as fruit bats or Pteropus giganteus, is listed as a ‘vermin’ in the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, due to its destructive tendencies towards fruit farms.”. Aren’t we really intelligent ?!
In recent years though like all creatures of the natural world , the population of fruit bats is also under considerable stress. In order to better understand them we hope to create a map of their roosting sites along with information about their population. We hope to create a baseline data with this and we are planning on repeating the exercise after a few years to observe any changes.
Searching the sites and visiting all of them individually is next to impossible. So we hope this effort to be a citizen science effort. To aid in data collection , we created a data gathering form which anyone can access to record the data. We request anyone who comes across a bat roosting site to record the same using the below method.
- Install the app “epicollect5” on your phone
- In search option look for “bat roosting”
- Select the project with the logo as shown.
- Enter the details and click on submit.
Installing “Epicollect” for data entry
As we start getting the data we will update this page with a map showing different locations and their populations. Once we have sufficient amount of data we hope to bring this to the attention of relevant authorities to protect the trees that they use for roosting.
Incase of any queries please do mail us at knf.conservation@gmail.com or you can call us @9940564585.
As on 10-10-2022 we have started the process sucessfully and the map is being updated as and when we get new data. Below is the result of the effort. As you can see the more data we get , the more clarity we will get on their numbers and location.