Its International Bat Night!
DZG is going batty as we mark International Bat Night, an awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for bat conservation and their habitats.
The event – now in its 19th year – sees bat enthusiasts and groups organise activities such as bat walks, workshops, seminars and exhibitions.
At Dudley Zoo weve established close connections with bat conservation groups, both nationally and locally, and have recently launched a new bat feeding experience for people interested in learning more about the flying mammals.
And weve had a dozen baby bats born, like the one shown above, since our interactive Castle Creatures exhibit opened inside the 11th century Dudley Castle at Easter.
The latest little ones – an Egyptian fruit bat and a three Sebas short-tailed bats – were born in the last three weeks.
Trainee Keeper Cara Sheldon, who looks after the animals in Castle Creatures and is pictured above, said: We have strong links with the Bat Conservation Trust and the local group Brumbats and support the conservation work they do.
“We also get asked lots of questions about our bats by visitors who can see the creatures skim drinking across a long water trough and feasting on a banana, which we give them every day at 2.30pm.
During the afternoon feed, many of our collection of more than 60 bats swoop down on the banana at the same time which is quite a spectacular sight.
Zoo Director Derek Grove presented members of BrumBats – also known as the Birmingham and Black Country Bat Group – with a £500 donation to support their volunteer work in bat conservation at the official opening of Castle Creatures in May. BrumBats helped provide information for the bat signage inside the exhibit which tells the story of the Earl of Dudleys family and explains the history of the Castle.
See our bats skim drinking in our video below. Have a happy International Bat Night!
