When the sun sets over Vaya and the birds settle down, other hunters come out over the water. Bats are the only mammals capable of flight and some of the most useful inhabitants of wetlands. A single small bat can eat hundreds of mosquitoes and other insects in one night. All bat species in Bulgaria are protected by law.
Wetlands are among the most important places for bats, because huge numbers of insects develop over the water and the reeds. But bats also need roosts – old trees with hollows, buildings, quiet and dark places where they can spend the day and raise their young.
In 2023 Ecopark Vaya began targeted work to protect bats. This includes preserving the old trees with hollows and cracked bark that serve as natural roosts, maintaining dark, unlit areas around the ponds, and limiting interference in the places where bats have been found.
Bats are also a natural regulator that replaces any chemical means against insects. In an ecopark where fireflies, bees, dragonflies and daphnia are protected, the use of insecticides is unthinkable – the bats take care of the balance instead.
The activity is carried out with our own funds and labour, as part of Ecopark Vaya’s constant work to protect all the inhabitants of the wetland – including those that come out only after dark.
Every summer evening, bats trace their invisible paths over the ponds of the ecopark. They are here because there are insects, water, old trees and darkness – four things that are becoming ever rarer in the modern world.
Project summary
Project: Protection of bats
Year: 2023
Location: Ecopark Vaya
Activity: preserving old hollow trees as roosts, maintaining dark areas around the ponds, limiting interference in known roosting sites
Funding: own funds and volunteer work
Status: completed, ongoing
Photo: Nils Bouillard / Unsplash