Species conservation

Bulgaria harbors 33 of all 35 bat species found in Europe.
All these species are rare and protected, being of great nature conservation significance.
Besides, they are extremely useful species as they feed exclusively on insects, many of which are pests.
The destruction of the natural bat habitats, as well as the uncontrolled use of insecticides, have caused drastic decline of their numbers in many countries.
This necessitates urgent conservation measures.

Find out more about bat species in general; bat ecology; bat species found in Bulgaria; caves inhabited by bats, etc.

What we do
In 1989, the Bat Research and Protection Group was established as part of Green Balkans’ activity. In 1997, the Group was registered as an independent organization dedicated to research and protection of bats.
At present, Green Balkans, in partnership with the London Zoological Society, is implementing “Monitoring of Bat Diversity: Indicators of Sustainable Development in Eastern Europe” project. The project involves an original monitoring program, using bats as indicators. The monitoring is implemented by volunteers. Using vehicles equipped with special devices (GPS and an ultrasonic detector), they record the sounds made by bats. The sound analysis makes it possible to identify the bat species, while the follow-up analysis helps to draw conclusions on the state of the environment and biodiversity in the studied regions.
Green Balkans’ volunteers participate in the programs for monitoring of bat colonies in the major caves inhabited by bats.

How you can help
- By participating in our project for monitoring of bats along the roads;
- By taking part in the monitoring implemented in the major Bulgarian caves inhabited by bats;
- By joining the information campaigns on bats (presentations, dissemination of information materials, etc.);
- By convincing more people in the usefulness of bats and the fact that they are interesting and rare animals.

Our activities for the conservation of bats are implemented in partnership with the Bat Research and Protection Group and the financial support of the London Zoological Society.