Visitors can learn more about the many species of bats hanging around Dudley Zoo as staff mark International Bat Appreciation Day.

Held on Saturday 14th April, volunteers from the Birmingham and Black Country Bat Group, known as Brumbats, will talk to visitors about their work helping the zoo monitor the bats found on the 40-acre site.

As well as Egyptian fruit and Seba’s short-tailed bats living in the Castle Creatures exhibit, there are a further nine species living wild in off-show caverns and tunnel systems. These include the Lesser Horseshoe bat, which is one of the rarest native bats in the UK and is ranked as nationally important. DZG Conservation Officer Chris Leeson, who has been carrying out the bat monitoring, said:

“Our bat day is about appreciating bats, as they very often get overlooked because of their nocturnal lifestyle. Every single bat in this country is protected and we want to do all we can to help conserve them.

“We use specialist detecting equipment, including mist nests and harp traps, to catch the bats as they leave their roosts so we can define the species and monitor their health.”

Dudley Zoo has recently been given permission to install sensitive and specialist equipment in the Stores Cavern, underneath the zoo grounds, to find out if bats are using the cavern to roost.

Visitors are encouraged to make a trip to the Castle Hill attraction next Saturday and become batty about bats!