Terra Natura has donated 10 shelter-boxes to the Valencian Ornithological Society so that the bats can breed in them.

The pilot experience of bat conservation, promoted by Terra Natura Benidorm, is going to be implemented in the wild ecosystems of the Marina Baixa. The project began six years ago with the installation of the first wooden boxes-shelters so that the bats could occupy them and breed in the park’s facilities.

Now this conservation project has gone far away thanks to the collaboration of the Valencian Ornithological Society, through its Las Marinas delegation, to work in the wild ecosystems of the area. In this latest phase of the initiative, 10 new refuge boxes have been created and donated to the Valencian Ornithological Society.

The Conservation department of Terra Natura Benidorm, through a workshop held with the families who visit the park, has built these 10 shelter-boxes for the wild bats that live in the area and thus help the conservation of this species. The park carries out two checks a year on the boxes installed in its facility and sends the data to specialised websites.

Of the 27 different species of bats that inhabit Spain, there are 3 types of bats: fissuriform bats that refuge in breachs, forest bats and cave bats. This type of artificial roosts are occupied by the breachs and forest species, which are the ones that tend to frequent urban areas.

The box-shelters are made of wood, a more efficient material for thermal insulation, and mimic the fissures or cracks that often are in trees. These shelters will be usefull  for the summer season when is the breeding season for this animal. However, in the winter season the bats look for more climatically isolated enclaves for hibernation and do not usually use them.

As explained by Terra Natura Benidorm’s conservation biologist, Elisa Gozalbes, this initiative has two objectives. On the one hand, “it seeks to spread the importance of conserving the natural habitats of these species, which bring so much benefit to natural ecosystems as pest controllers”, and on the other hand it aims to “raise awareness of the role that bats play in the balance of ecosystems, thus ending the bad and unjustified reputation they have”.

The team of experts at Terra Natura Benidorm reminds us that these animals are protected in the Valencian Community and nationally. Therefore, if they occupy the refuge, they cannot be handled and it is necessary to obtain a permit from the Generalitat to be able to interact with the refuge-box.

Conservation threats

One of the most serious conservation problems affecting wild bat populations is the loss of their habitat, due to the transformation of the landscape and the overexploitation of forests. In addition, the widespread use of agricultural pesticides reduces the number of potential prey and leads to poisoning through ingestion of contaminated insects.

Bats all over the planet, as Elisa Gozalbes stresses, “provide numerous environmental benefits, as some of them act as pollinators and/or dispersers by spreading flower seeds, which facilitates plant reproduction and the natural conservation of ecosystems”. In addition to this, they are also important for their intrinsic value, as species that share the planet with us.