Further evidence for the post-release survival of hand-reared, orphaned bats based on radio-tracking and ring-return data ...

• Main Authors: Kelly, A, Goodwin, S, Grogan, A, Mathews, F
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2012
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Chordata; Animalia; bats; bat; Pipistrellus pipistrellus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13453908; https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13453908

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) We recently used radio-tracking to demonstrate short-term, post-release survival of five orphaned, hand-reared pipistrelle bats. Here, we present further evidence of short-term, post-release survival and also demonstrate longer term survival using re-sighting data of ringed common (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) and soprano (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) pipistrelle bats. Ten bats (five common and five soprano pipistrelles) were radio-tracked for between one and ten days. Three of these were retrieved after one, two and four days, respectively. In addition, five of the 39 (13%) ringed bats returned to their release boxes between 38 and 1,389 days after release, at least two of which survived over the winter in the wild. A sixth ringed bat was retrieved 27 days after release after becoming trapped in a house. We also identified potential barriers to successful rehabilitation. Two of the ten bats radio-tracked in the current project became trapped within buildings and ...