BATS Mystical and misunderstood
« Dr Ian Whyte is an independent environmental consultant who retired from SANParks in 2007. He was previously engaged in full-time wildlife research in the Kruger National Park from 1970-2007. At the time of retirement, he was responsible for the coordination of all research projects pertaining to elephant, buffalo and other large herbivores and rare antelope. He is a member of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission’s African Elephant Specialist Group. He has co-authored two field guides to the birds of the Kruger National Park and in 2020, released his latest book about his life and work in the KNP.
To most of us, a bat is just a bat – a mystical little flitting silhouette seen at dusk or dawn with little clue as to its identity.
When viewed in this way, they are extraordinarily difficult to identify, and this contributes to the ignorance that most of us have about bats. And without knowing what species you are looking at, the ability to acquire further knowledge is severely compromised. By
