Warning over plight of rare bat

One of the rarest bats in Britain is under threat because of a “dramatic decline” in areas where they hunt for food, experts have warned.

By The Newsroom

Published 5th Aug 2013, 01:01 BST

There are only 1,000 grey long-eared bats left in the UK and numbers are declining, the Bat Conservation Trust said.

Researcher Dr Orly Razgour said the future survival of the species in the UK is “questionable” and called for greater conservation efforts to protect the mammal.

She said the decline in the population of the long-eared bat is likely to have occurred as a result of a reduction in the bats’ main foraging habitats – lowland meadows and marshlands.

Dr Razgour said the bats should be added to the “UK Priority Species” list of the most threatened species that require action.

Britain