Trust gets a pat on the back for bat protection mission in Kolar

The 12 months that glided by was not a good one for bats. They have been checked out with suspicion for being the potential culprits that unfold a virus that paralysed the world. But in a little-known a part of Karnataka, efforts to preserve a supremely uncommon species of bats have earned reward and funding.

For its work on conserving the critically endangered Kolar leaf-nosed bat, Bat Conservation India Trust was not too long ago picked for the ‘Lesser-known Species Grant’ by The Habitats Trust, which goals to safe key habitats and indigenous species.

The Kolar leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros hypophyllus) is alleged to have been first described in 1994 based mostly on specimens collected from Therahalli and Hanumanahalli, and is exclusive amongst the Hipposideros household because it has just one pair of supplementary leaflets round its nostril leaf. “This species has not been documented anywhere else after it was first described in 1994. There wasn’t any specific attention given to search and study on this bat till the beginning of 2013,” mentioned Rajesh Puttaswamaiah, citizen scientist and trustee, Bat Conservation India Trust.

It is discovered solely in a cave on a small hillock in Hanumanahalli, which is surrounded by agricultural land. Nearly 50% of the protected space is roofed by the hill and remaining 50% is scrubland, he defined. “If we need to protect the species from extinction, we need to not only protect its roost site (home), but also protect its foraging area (food source). We have been collaborating with the Forest Department on various aspects, including preparing a short-term conservation action plan, designing a notification board to be installed around the reserve, educating the forest staff, and creating attractive photos of the bats to garner required support,” mentioned Mr. Puttaswamaiah.

Interestingly, although COVID-19 created a damaging notion about bats amongst individuals, the communities residing near the bats defend them, saying they’ve been residing round these bats for a whole bunch of years and haven’t confronted any points to date, he mentioned. “Our first step is to engage with the community and instil a sense of pride in them to protect these bats and their habitats. We have planned a few outreach programs and identified a few youngsters to participate in our research activities,” he added. They may also be beginning evaluation to establish the extent of foraging space and their most well-liked habitats in every season, earlier than creating a long-term conservation motion plan.

The State forest officers concerned in the venture additionally echoed related issues. “The most important point is that this bat species is exclusive to Karnataka. The basic thing the Forest Department took up was to protect their roost sites. Along with other agencies, such as the Revenue Department, we were able to get it notified as a conservation reserve though it is not in a forest area, as we have done substantially in Karnataka in many places,” mentioned a senior official.

Challenges

The main problem, officers mentioned, was that the space of the hillock was below stress for quarrying. “The other challenge is that the landscape around Kolar has changed drastically. We don’t know what these bats eat and come back. From what we heard, these are bats which eat insects, or they could be omnivorous. Are they feeding only on insects of crops, and are these crops still being grown? We don’t know. All these aspects, where they go, and what they feed on are being looked into now,” the official mentioned.

Though native communities have been extraordinarily supportive, defending the space from travellers, for occasion, stays a precedence, for which watchers have been deployed.

Trisha Ghose, venture director, The Habitats Trust, mentioned the Lesser-known Species Grant goals to assist organisations which can be working to guard threatened species that type the spine of our ecosystem, however haven’t essentially been afforded the similar degree of conservation consideration give to the tiger, elephant, rhino, or leopard. An essential criterion is that the species should be listed as ‘threatened’ or ‘data deficit’ as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature or on Schedule 1 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act of India.

About the Kolar leaf-nosed bat and the conservation efforts hooked up to it, she mentioned, “This elusive species has only been recorded from one cave in Kolar and its population is estimated to be a mere 150 to 200 surviving in the wild. Their numbers are rapidly declining because of changing land use, hunting, and stone quarrying in their only remaining habitat. Under the project, we will be carrying out surveys to assess the habitat, ecology, and population of the Kolar leaf-nosed bat with the goal of developing a long-term conservation plan to prevent its silent extinction,” she mentioned. She acknowledged that regardless of the important ecological features bats play as pollinators and pest controllers, they’ve lengthy been feared and demonised — a drawback solely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.