Bat Night returns to the Naracoorte Caves!

Worldwide, bats get a bad rap (even more so in the past couple years) and misconceptions about these creatures abound. But our nocturnal flying friends are super interesting, diverse, and even helpful to humans!

Did you know:

  • Bats make up about 20% of the world’s mammals (just behind rodents)?
  • Flying foxes are important pollinators of eucalyptus species on the east coast of Australia?
  • Bat are very long-lived! The oldest known individual, a tiny bat from Siberia, lived to 41 years.
Southern Bent-winged Bat. Photo: Steve Bourne and Terry Reardon

On Friday, 1 April, I’ll be presenting a talk on bats of the South East at the Limestone Coast Landscape Board’s (LCLB) Bat Night at the Naracoorte Caves, the site of the most important maternity colony of critically endangered Southern Bent-wing Bats.

On the night, the LCLB will be launching a new informative video and brochure about bat boxes. You’ll also have the opportunity to view Southern Bent-wings in incredible detail via camera in the Bat Teleview Centre, before heading back outside to watch the thousands of bats leave the cave for the evening.

Whether you’re already a bat-lover or are more uncertain about these particular native animals, Bat Night has something for everyone. Previous Bat Night events have booked out fast, so get in quickly! Bookings can be made via the LCLB here.

Rose Thompson