Hundreds of bats live together for years

By Abinash Chaudhary,Dhangadhi, Feb. 19: Hundreds of bats have been living in one place for the past eight years in Kailali.A large flock of bats has been living on the premises of the Internal Revenue Office located in Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City-3. They keep on hanging by five to six trees like mango and lapsi on the Revenue Office premises all-day long.

Raj Bahadur Aair, chairman of Ward No. 3 of the Sub-metropolitan City, who is also a conservationist, said that a large flock of bats has been living in the same place for eight years. "Earlier, they used to hang around the trees of Dipendra Police Residential Secondary School but they shifted to the revenue office after all the tall trees were chopped down in the school area,” he said.

Although they fly like birds, bats are mammals with special and unique characteristics. Bats give birth to babies and suckle milk. It is said that bats are the only mammals that can fly long distances. 

A security guard working in the office said that the bats that have been living on the premises of the revenue office fly out at 5 to 6 pm in the evening to look for food and return by 3 am before the sunlight. 

"This animal hangs upside down on a tree and rests during the day and makes a lot of noise in the evening and early morning," he said.

It is said that bats eat fruits and insects. Ornithologist Hiru Lal Dangaura said that there is a special habitat for bats in Kailali. He said that a flight of bats is living in the revenue office and Muddhi in Joshipur in the district.

There might be a subject of research on why this mammal stays in one place for a long time. "Why they don't leave their habitat for a long time is a matter of investigation," said Dangoura.

The bats living in the office area were counted by Dangaura in 2019. At the time, 855 individuals were recorded, he said.

According to a book on Bat Conservation by Hari Adhikari, bats have an echo-detection system that allows them to bypass obstacles even in complete darkness and catch even the smallest insects. Bats emit a shrill sound when they fly.

It is said that bats are very shy and  important creatures in the ecosystem. In general, the book mentions that the lifespan of a bat is 30 years and the female gives birth to one or two babies at a time.

Bat bones are not hollow like that of birds. They have bones like other mammals so they have heavy bodies. As a result, the animal hangs upside down so that it is easier to fall into the air and take flight, according to the book. The book also mentions that 53 species of bats are found in Nepal.