Bats come home to roost at Whipsnade Zoo -

Night vision cameras have been hidden around the UK’s largest zoo in a bid to learn more about one of Britain’s most elusive species – the bat.

Alongside its rhinos and elephants, Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire is home to many wild UK native species, including British bats, making the 600-acre conservation zoo the perfect hub to learn more about British bats, which have suffered a massive decline in the last century.

Despite their spooky reputation, British bats are harmless, and play a crucial role in the ecosystem – as Halloween approaches, the flying mammals slow down and begin to prepare for hibernation; providing conservationists at the zoo the ideal moment to check on the population.

Whipsnade Zoo’s resident ‘batman’ Tyrone Capel has placed camera traps around the zoo to record the bats’ activity, as well as conducting daily surveys of a historic zoo barn - converted into a bat hibernation den - to search for signs of the tiny mammals.

Tyrone said: “As the weather cools and we head towards winter, British bats will be looking for places to hibernate – and Whipsnade Zoo has some brilliant roosting spots for these little creatures. These hibernation sites peak in popularity at this time of year, so it’s an ideal time to investigate bat activity and check on the wild population.”