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Galapagos bats need help so we are sending a New Zealand expert to help the National Park research and conserve them.

  • Bat in the Hand

      24 August 2017
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    Josh reports on successful bat catch

    "The bats kept flying just past the net and it looked like they were too smart for us. BUT at the last minute, a quick flick of the wrist by one of the Rangers led to the first bat caught in around 20 years! So, introducing Bat T182, AKA “Snuffles the destroyer”. Thanks, Leah and Alana for the donation that led to this unique name! If you want to add a name to list click on the link below and donate $50 or more."

    The Park wants me to come back again in November/December which is the dry season when insect numbers will be up and hopefully the bat numbers too. While I’m away, the Rangers will be doing the challenging work of finding bat capture locations. I left my bat detector with them to help and gave some general advice on how to proceed. Next trip we will focus on learning how to take genetic samples and disease screening. So, if you want to support the project further we need all the help we can get.

    Check out the gallery for some more great photos of the bat catch.

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  • Update from Josh

      18 August 2017
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    There is a perception that Galapagos is all reptiles and birds in a hot, seaside cactus setting. Highlands on several of the larger islands are in stark contrast to this. Endemic daisy trees grow in a misty and cool environment along with coffee, tomatoes and mandarins. There are many caves throughout the islands from old lava tunnels.

    We went to look at one of these which bats have been seen in the past. We did not plan on catching any but set up a net outside the cave encase we scared them out. No success but it may be that the bats use the caves seasonally. The Rangers will start surveying these caves when they are on their normal rounds to see if this is the case.

    Check out the gallery for photos of the cave site

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  • Nets & Bat Catching & Owls!

      11 August 2017
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    The first night of bat catching had a zero result – the bats were there but flying higher than the nets would reach. Of course this was valuable experience for everybody in setting up and taking down nets. One of the Park rangers, Charley, had an idea for hoisting the nets higher using a system that has been used in the highlands to catch an invasive fly. By using this system with 2 nets Josh hopes they will be able to get the nets high enough to be in the bats foraging area. So, fingers crossed!

    The team did get a treat though. An owl decided to show up and hunt the giant grasshoppers which are attracted to the lights. One of the volunteers, Aura Banda, snapped amazing shots of the owl as it flew back and forth between its hunting perches. After a while it saw a mouse on the far side of the street and two seconds later the mouse was at the pearly gates wondering how it got there. Check out the photos in the Gallery

    Josh is really impressed with the Park rangers and their skills at erecting such a high mist net so fast. Sadly, the second night of catching did not result in any caught bats. The lights were the main factor. They do bring in insect’s and bats but they also make the nets more visible. They will be trying next to some caves as there are reports of the bats using them as night roosts.

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  • Josh's Progress

      11 August 2017

    Josh continues meeting with the Galapagos National Park and the permit for the bat work was issued. He has trained 10 local researchers and rangers on bat capture, banding and processing. Using a bat detector, they were able to find some black bats present at street lights which was pretty exciting.

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  • Josh in Galapagos

      3 August 2017

    Josh arrived in Galapagos and met with the Galapagos National Park where the objectives for

    Josh's visit were clearly established. Josh then commenced the process of applying for the

    necessary permits for the work that he will be undertaking. A follow up meeting was being planned

    for this week and then a field trip with Josh, the rangers and volunteers to familiarise all

    with what would be involved in the bat work.

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  • Bands for bats

      11 July 2017

    We’ve had some good news in terms of bat bands. As with birds, bands attached to their legs – or in the case of bats forearms – allow researchers to know which bat is which. So if you are trying to count bats, you can be sure you aren’t double counting. And you can work out how far they are moving, what colony a foraging bat came from, and so on. The difficulty with Galapagos bats is that they have never been banded before as far as we know, so we don’t know what size bands are needed to fit their legs. If you don’t use the right size (and put it on correctly), there is a risk that the band will fall off, get caught in things, or damage the animal’s leg. Fortunately, the company that makes bat bands has kindly agreed to put together a box of mixed sizes, so Josh can work out what size is needed.

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