Where: Ukraine, Kharkov region, village Lesnoe, Kievskoe roadway 12, Feldman Ecopark
When: 23 March 2014, 17.00
Organizer: Bat Rehabilitation Center of Feldman Ecopark
In December 2013 the first Bat Rehabilitation Center in Ukraine was established in Kharkiv by initiative and financial support of the International charitable fund of Alexander Feldman. The aims of the Center re to save and rehabilitate bats, suffering from people, to help weak bats in winter and to educate people about bats.
All Ukrainian bats are listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine, so it is important to save every single bat. During winter 2013/2014 specialists Bat Rehabilitation Center saved more than 600 bats of 5 species: N.noctula, E.serotinus, P.kuhlii, V.murinus and P.auritus.
Many citizens of Kharkiv helped us a lot to save bats in the city, they picked bats up in buildings and outdoors and brought them to bat specialists. We also received bats from some other cities of Ukraine such as Poltava, Kupyansk, Zmiev, and Komsomolsk. Each bat was measured, weighted, ringed, and given water with vitamins. Bats with sufficient weight were placed to the refrigerator for further hibernation. Bat with low weight, weakened or with injured were cured and feed with beetle larvae. Duration of bat feeding varied from 3 days to 1 month. Alltogether 14 kg of insects were spent during winter.
Unfortunately, we could not save all bats found: some of them had hard injuries incompatible with life; some were very exhausted and reject food. However, more than 500 bats survived and will be released on 23-rd of March, when nocturnal insects will appear.
Last spring, on 7-th of April 2013 we also organized in Feldman Ecopark solemn release of saved bats, when 200 bats were released. This year we release three times more bats – mainly due to activity of citizens, involvement of young biologists from Zoo School and Feldman Ecopark and volunteer help with bat feeding.
Role of bats in human life is underestimated. All Ukrainian bats feed on insects and thus regulate insect numbers. It was calculated, that one Noctule bat can eat insects with total weight of more than 1/3 of bat’s weight per one feeding (approximatelly it is 7 g). During spring to summer period (150 days in Ukraine) one bat can eat 1-1,5 kg of insects. Thus, 500 bats saved by Bat rehabilitation center will consume 500-750 kg of insects. Without bats our lands, parks and gardens would be swarmed by insects which would damage plants and people would spend 500 kg of insecticides with total cost almost 7 000 EUR.
Photo: Saved in the building Noctule bat. It dropped in the lift mine where get dirty in mazut. We wash it off by shampoo in three times. Now it is waiting release to the wild.