National Trust creates ‘bat flap’ for Lesser Horseshoe bats.
07/03/2007 00:00:00Lesser Horseshoe bat facts.
- The lesser horseshoe bat can live up to 21 years and they usually live in colonies of between 30 and 70 bats.
- The mating period for lesser horseshoe bats is between September and November, they then hibernate until the following spring when maternity colonies are established.
- One young, otherwise known as a pup, is born between mid June and mid July.
- During the winter they live in caves, mines and tunnels and at the end of hibernation they move to roofs of larger houses and stable blocks.
Chedworth Roman Villa
- Chedworth Roman Villa, a Romano-British villa in the Cotswold countryside, is the National Trust's oldest stately home, dating from the 4th century AD. Chedworth Roman Villa is one of the most important Roman sites in Britain. The site has many significant features including fine mosaics from the period and a large collection of finds.
The Chedworth bat roost project is unique as most Lesser Horseshoe bat roost projects focus on improving existing roosts (e.g. the roofs of large houses and stable blocks). The Chedworth roost is brand new; the Trust has started from scratch, its plans for a new roost began 4 years ago with the modifications to the visitor centre at Chedworth Roman Villa.
It has taken 2 years for bats to find the new roost, but the Trust has now confirmed that Lesser Horseshoe bats have now colonized their new home at Chedworth, which they share with more familiar Pipistrelle and Whiskered bats.
Once common all over southern England and Wales, the UK population of about 14,000 Lesser Horseshoe bats is now confined to south-west England and Wales, with Gloucestershire at the heart of its current range.
The species’ decline is attributed to farming practices and disturbance and destruction of their roosts. Special management and protection of their roosts and food sources (flies, moths and spiders) is required, and the bats also need ‘joined-up’ habitats in the form of hedgerows and tree lines that they can use to commute to feeding areas. The National Trust has been working to create environments that allow the bats to live and breed undisturbed, and the Chedworth project is part of a much wider range of initiatives in which the Trust is involved that are designed to encourage and support UK bat populations. David Bullock, Head of Nature Conservation at the National Trust and a fully trained bat handler, says, ‘We are delighted that the unique Chedworth project has successfully provided a summer residence for the rare Lesser Horseshoe bat, which has undergone a severe decline in recent years. Without this sort of initiative the numbers of Lesser Horseshoe bats will continue to decline as they struggle to find suitable roosts and habitats. Bats are one of the key species for the National Trust and we are working to make sure that our buildings can effectively support colonies of them and other species throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.’
