University Professors Going Batty

Exeter scientist Dr. Fiona Mathews discovers UK’s rarest bat!

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University of Exeter scientist Dr. Fiona Mathews was treated to a flying visit from one of Britain’s rarest mammals at a wildlife celebration in the Axe Estuary Wetlands in East Devon.

The grey long-eared bat, of which there are only six known breeding colonies in the UK, joined in the merriment at the appropriately titled ‘Bat Evening’.

The event was part of a regular ‘Wet and Wild’ weekend attended by around 500 outdoorsy-types.

The discovery was made possible by Dr Mathews and Adrian Bayley’s ingenious ‘mist-net’, a construction that allowed the group to see some of the animals they had only been able to hear over super high-tech bat detectors.

The discovery was particularly surprising as the grey long-eared bat emits very quiet ultrasound (so that it doesn’t scare away its moth prey,) meaning that it cannot usually be picked up by bat detectors.

Due to this quiet nature, the grey long-eared bat has been nicknamed the ‘whispering’ bat. It looks like we have no choice but to rename Dr. Fiona Mathews ‘The Bat Whisperer’.