Western barbastelle

The species is distributed in Europe, from the southern parts of the Scandinavian Peninsula to the Mediterranean, in the east – to the Caucasus. It is a rare species for Bulgaria, found in forest landscapes, mainly in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas.

The Western barbastelle is medium-sized bat, dark in color, with short rounded ears, the bases of which are fused. This specificity is found only in long-eared bats. The fur is long, silky. The back is dark brown, with a silver tinge, as the tips of the hairs are light. The underside is dark gray. Inhabits wooded areas, mainly in the mountains. Leads a hidden lifestyle, can rarely be observed. The species leaves its day shelters around sunset. It flies slowly and low. It feeds on small insects, which it often hunts over water pools or collects from the surface of the leaves. It hunts on the edge of forests, over roads and alleys in forests and parks. It eats its victims in flight. In summer, females form small colonies in cracks in the bark of trees. Males usually live alone, but sometimes join female colonies. Hibernation is from October to April, mainly in underground shelters. In Bulgaria it prefers cold caves with a temperature of about 0 °C. Copulation is in autumn and winter. The female gives birth in June to one (rarely two) offspring. Sexual maturity in females occurs in the second year. The maximum life expectancy is 23 years.

Unknown.

The Western barbastelle is strictly protected species included in Annexes 2 and 3 of the Biodiversity Act (BDA); Annex II of the Bern Convention and Bonn Convention. The species is also included in Annex II and Annex IV of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Habitats Directive). The bat is included in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species with category Near Threatened (NT) and is also part of the Red Data Book of Bulgaria (2015) with category “Vulnerable” (VU).

*Note: For the description of bats is used information from: Golemanski, V. & al. (eds). 2015. Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria. Vol. 2. Animals. BAS & MoEW, Sofia [English ed.: ISBN 978-954-9746-22-8 (IBER – BAS), 978-954-8497-18-3 (MoEW)]; the website of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature); the website of the Federation of nature conservation NGOs “Green Balkans”.