WNPS Youth Wing’s Halloween Special: Exploring the secret world of bats

Prof Wipula Yapa

• Workshop with Professor Wipula Yapa on 31 October at 10 a.m.

 The Youth Wing of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society has decided to celebrate this year’s Halloween by educating the public regarding the secret world of bats. The WNPS Youth Wing has launched a series of skills workshop with its partner National Development Bank (NDB). 

On 31 October at 10 a.m., Professor Wipula Yapa, a former Professor in Zoology at the Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences of the University of Colombo, is ready to speak about the instrumental roles played by bats in their ecosystems.  

Bats are a group of placental mammals and just like us, are warm-blooded, furry, give birth to young, nurse them with milk and groom to stay clean. They are the only group of mammals capable of true flight and are essentially nocturnal, when vision is of little use. Bats have solved the problems of avoiding obstacles and finding their food in the dark by evolving an intricate system of using sounds and echoes reflected from objects, which is known as echolocation or Biosonar. The power of perception of an echolocating bat is comparable, if not superior, to human vision. Most probably, due to these two unique specialisations—echolocation and flight—bats have become one of the most successful groups of mammals living today with over 1400 species worldwide. 

Bats are an elusive group of animals, and many consider them to be evil, creepy, scary and even dangerous. On the contrary, they are an important species that impact our daily lives in ways we might not even realise. From pollinating our favourite fruits and dispersing seeds, bats play an essential role in providing us with valuable ecosystem services. 

Despite this remarkable diversity and long evolutionary history, today, bats are considered to be one of the most threatened groups of mammals. Since they cluster in large colonies, a million bats can be wiped out in less than a few minutes because of easy access and vulnerability. Since they play an important role in many ecosystems and some are considered to be keystone species, the loss of bats could seriously threaten the survival of tropical rain forests, and eventually the well-being of our lives.

Highlighting the importance of the bats, The Youth Wing has dedicated the last week of October to raise awareness about this elusive species on their social media, bringing to light intriguing facts about these often overlooked but important animals, and highlighting their importance. To register sign up via https://forms.gle/rrJr1Cw67YbrF81U9.

Rhinolophus rouxii by Vimukthi Weeratunga

Taphozous melanpogon (Black-bearded sheath-tailed bat)

Rhinolopus lankadiva by Ranil Nanayakkara

Megaderma spasma ( Lesser false Vampire bat) by Ranil Nanayakkara

Kerivoula picta (Painted bat) by Ranil Nanayakkara