Innovative mammal conservation
Thanks to the huge generosity of groups and individuals, we have been able to purchase a vital maternity roost for one of our rarest mammals, the greater horseshoe bat…and have made it a safe haven.
Vincent Wildlife Trust is extremely grateful to Dr Ian Baker, of Leonardo UK Ltd, for his generosity in sharing his video of footage filmed for the BBC programme Inside the Bat Cave, which aired on BBC2 in October 2020. This was filmed using thermal imaging cameras over a few weeks in the summer of 2019 and gives a unique view of greater horseshoe bats at one of VWT’s largest maternity roosts in Dorset. The video also includes footage filmed by Dr Liat Wicks.
You can also help the recovery of this species continue across the country through our Sussex Bat Appeal.
An animal that tips the scales at just 6g and that flies silently at night poses challenges to those humans who attempt to study, conserve and capture it on film. But, this feat was achieved in the summer of 2014 when the Trust, and the lesser horseshoe bats it protects, were invited to participate in a film about Irish wildlife called Nature’s Keepers, the focus of which was to highlight the people who study and conserve the fauna and flora of the island and its surrounding waters. The final one hour film was recently screened on Australian television.
Director Cécile Favier and cameraman Frédéric Menissier of Films Concept Associés for Ushuaïa TV spent one day and night with Kate McAney learning about how the Trust undertakes its work of managing roosts for the lesser horseshoe, and the results can be seen in this video.
