Bats get their own day on the last weekend of August. Or rather, night: on European Bat Night, an international event promoted by UN bats secretariat Eurobats looks to get people closer to these animals. This is hoped to help the public better understand the important role of bats in the ecosystem, and encourage their conservation - since many species are in danger of extinction. These winged mammals are a "keystone species" essential to some ecosystems, being responsible for the natural control of agricultural pests, pollination of plants and seed distribution. Bats are critical to the survival of many wild species. Without them, the diversity of plants and animals on Earth would be greatly reduced. Even their droppings (known as guano) are a valuable natural fertilizer. Although bats have almost no natural enemies, over past decades they have been facing numerous threats. All of these are related to human activity: habitat loss due to deforestation, changes in building style, and overhunting for bush meat are among them. Beyond this, the ever-more more aggressive use of pesticides in agriculture has also lead to a significant decline of insects - bats' main food source - thus poisoning bats. Contributing to the problem is the difficulty in tracking significant declines in bat populations - until their situation is critical. And bats' low reproduction rates - most females give birth to only one pup per year - make recovery from serious losses especially slow.
Source: Deutsche Welle, August 2015
http://www.dw.com/en/european-bat-night-helping-endangered-bats-matter/…
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