International Bat Night

Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Their wings are flaps of skin joining their fingers together. There are 18 species of bat in the UK –that’s over 20% of all our UK mammal species. Bats are not blind. In fact, they can see quite well in the half light. However, like dolphins they mainly use echolocation - high pitched sounds which bounce back, allowing them to build a picture of the landscape in which they are flying.

Since 1997, the last weekend in August has been reserved for bats. At public events in museums, at universities, at specialised institutes, in clubhouses or simply out in nature, biologists as well as volunteers raise awareness about fascinating ecological features of these mammals.

The International Bat Night is an awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for bat conservation and their habitats.

The Bat Night has taken place every year since 1997 in more than 30 countries on the last full weekend of August.

Source: eurobats.org & bats.org.uk