Page 37 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #06

inFOCUS

EVENING EXODUS

In the summer a cave in southern Greece teems with thousands
of bats, as juveniles join adults on the hunt, says ANDY DATSON.

“Every summer evening, lesser mouse-eared to greater horseshoe bats and Schreiber’s
bats pour out of this cave in waves,” says bent-winged bats, giving it a combined
Greek photographer Philippos Katsiyiannis. population of over 2,000 animals. Philippos
“They circle around the cave entrance before took his photograph in late July, when
finally heading out into the night to hunt. It’s juvenile bats start to fly with the adults.
the most fantastic spectacle.” Lesser mouse- Mating occurs not long afterwards, often in
eared bats, which are not found in Britain, August.“The males must defend spots on
prefer to forage over warm, open habitats the ceiling of the cave, where females will
where big beetles, crickets and praying join them to mate,” Philippos explains. After
mantises loom large on the menu. They are mating, the females – as in many species
relatively big for a European bat, weighing up of bat – store the males’ sperm over winter.
to 26g, with a body length of 6–7cm. Fertilisation finally occurs the following
This particular cave, in the Peloponnese spring, with births taking place in June.
peninsula in southern Greece, is also home O Andy Datson is a journalist.