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Living World

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

The Living World

Getting up close and personal with wild nature in Britain and beyond.

Intimate encounters and extraordinary observations of wild nature in Britain and beyond.

Living World: Lesser Horseshoe Bats

20/05/2012

Lesser Horseshoe Bats

BBC Radio 4 - Living World, Lesser Horseshoe Bats

Sarah Pitt visits the Usk Valley to see a population of lesser horseshoe bats.

Sarah Pitt visits the Usk Valley to see a population of lesser horseshoe bats. She talks to an expert who is trying to involve the wider community in protecting the bats.

Lesser horseshoe bats live in close proximity to people because their maternity roosts are found almost exclusively in buildings. Since the 1900's their population has declined and now they can only be seen in south west Wales and in parts of south west England.

Sarah Pitt visits the Usk Valley in Wales on the edge of the Brecon Beacons, to talk to Henry Schofield from the Vincent Wildlife Trust. Henry is part of a team leading a number of initiatives to involve the wider community in protecting these bats by building a sustainable bat-friendly environment. In Spring lesser horseshoe bats move from their cooler hibernation sites into their warmer summer or maternity roosts. Visiting a roost offers the opportunity to examine these tiny, delicate bats with their butterfly like flight as they emerge at dusk to forage for insects or pick their prey off foliage.

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