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Batty behaviour down in Purbeck
From the archive, first published Saturday 24th Sep 2005.
A STUDY of the UK's largest rare bat started this week.
The Greater Horseshoe bat is to be the main subject of a three-year research project.
It will look at the bats' roosts, flight patterns, diets, habitats and the influence of farming practices on the species in Purbeck, Dorset, the eastern edge of its range in the UK.
Many of the local landowners, including the National Trust, Dorset County Council, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Ministry of Defence and the RSPB as well as other conservation bodies such as English Nature and the Dorset Bat Group, have joined together for the study.
They hope it will shed light on the best ways to safeguard the bats' habitat, helping them to thrive and extend their range.
The bats will be tagged and tracked using radio receivers, thanks to funding from trust SITA UK, landfill tax and other sources. The UK population of Greater Horseshoe bats is thought to number 4,000, with 200 breeding females in Dorset.
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