Bat conference: Targeting the hunters of the night

This year's Saxon Bat Conference is dedicated to new protection concepts for the "hunters of the night". The conference this coming Saturday in Freiberg will also focus on the hibernation quarters of bats, according to the State Foundation for Nature and the Environment.

In addition, a new guideline for the consideration of bats and birds in the renovation and demolition of buildings will be presented. The conference is being organized by Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nabu), Bergakademie Freiberg and the Sächsische Landesstiftung Natur und Umwelt.

Great response to the "Bats come into the house" campaign

The Landesstiftung has been involved in bat conservation for many years. In 2001, it launched the "Bring a bat into your home" campaign in cooperation with Nabu. The aim was to raise public awareness of the need to protect bats and their roosts. The response to the campaign was unexpectedly high, it said. More than 600 plaques have already been awarded for "bat-friendly" buildings throughout Saxony - mostly to private homeowners, but also to public institutions.

Bats are endangered - also by wind turbines

Bats are known as Chiroptera, which means "hand-winged". In fact, their wings are actually transformed hands whose fingers carry the flight skin. With over a thousand species, they are the second largest family of mammals. Almost all European species feed on insects. There are 25 species living in Germany, 22 of them in Saxony.

The mosquito bat and pipistrelle bat are among the smallest representatives. They fit comfortably in a matchbox. The largest bat species in Germany is the greater mouse-eared bat with a wingspan of up to 40 centimetres. Bats are endangered - by the destruction of their roosts, road construction, insect repellents and also wind turbines.