Work starts on Bat Rehabilitation centre

The Kent Bat group have recently received a grant of over £5,000 from the Big Lottery Fund to build a Kent Bat Rehabilitation Centre in partnership with Wildwood Trust.

The first part of the construction has just started at the discovery park, situated just outside Canterbury, with a piece of woodland being marked out to take the new enclosure.

The aim of the rehabilitation centre is to help return orphaned or injured bats to the wild. The large flight cage will enable young bats to learn to fly and catch their own insects. Injured bats will also be able to improve their fitness and get their strength back prior to being released back in to the wild.

"This will really help the work of the Kent Bat Group" commented Hazel Ryan, Wildwood Conservation Officer and Volunteer Batworker. "The bat group rescued over 80 bats last year and this facility will give these threatened animals a far better chance to get back to the wild".

All 17 species of bats in Britain are protected by law and 6 species are listed as priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Research carried out recently by the RSPCA concluded that hand-reared bats given the opportunity to practice flying and feeding had a far better chance of survival in the wild.

The rehabilitation centre will give visitors to Wildwood the opportunity to learn more about bats and the work of the Kent Bat Group.

There is a huge range of British animals that can be seen at the Wildwood Discovery Park as well, for more information visit the website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 782 0087.

Wildwood is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.

Wildwood is situated close to Canterbury , just off the A291 between Herne Bay and Canterbury . For more information visit our website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 782 0081.

More Bat Facts

• Bats are mammals: they are warm blooded, give birth to live young and suckle their young.
• There are over 1000 species of bats which makes them the second largest group of mammals in the world.
• Bats are the only true flying mammals.
• All British bats feed on insects.
• Bats aren't blind. They can see well but their nocturnal lifestyle means that they need to use other senses to find their way around.
• Many bats find their way about and locate their prey by using echolocation (sonar or ultrasound).
• European species of bat can live for up to 40 years .
• In Britain all bats and their roosts are protected by law.
• There are 17 species of bat living in Britain.
• The bat that you are most likely to see in Britain is one of the pipistrelle species. It can eat around 3,000 mosquitoes and midges in one night!
• Bats in Britain hibernate during the winter months when insects are scarce.