Zambia

Partners

Glenys Shone

corner Kabinga / Fitente Rd., Northrise, Ndola 

I count an Eidolon colony that is seasonally roosting in my private garden in Ndola.  While I'm delighted when the bats arrive here each September, I do also welcome the quiet again at the end of the season in January. Sometimes we encounter people with catapults hunting (and killing) bats - then the bats get no chance to settle down properly in the daytime. Many local people find it entertaining to disturb them by clapping as they walk under the roost or even hooting car horns as the bats then all take off and fill the sky, a lot of arguing occurs there after whilst the bats find their favourite spot to settle down in again.  In 2021, they left pretty early in January, and I watched many bats flying over the garden and heading north for a few days that week.

Locations

Ndola

Glenys' garden and surroundings

While Glenys' garden is a safe haven for the bats, the other roosts in the surroundings have been counted in 2022 for the first time.

In September 2021, Glenys decided to have a mural on her wall, painted by young artists. It summarizes important information about Eidolon, and why these bats should not be persecuted but protected. 

See some snapshots here - many thanks for this Glenys, it's has become great! And the mural seems to work and reduce disturbance of the bats... Maybe this is an approach to also consider at other sites!