Critically endangered bat makes foray into NCR

A Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat (Otomops wroughtoni) has been sighted at north Delhi’s Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP), which chiropterologists (experts who study bats) say is the first record not just for Delhi-NCR but northern India too. The bat is generally seen in the western ghats near Karnataka, with recent records from northeast India’s Meghalaya and Cambodia, making this a rare species in this part of the country.

Historically, 14 bat species have been recorded in the capital, with this being 15th unique species in the region, experts said.

The species was sighted on December 1 by Faiyaz Khudsar, the scientist-in-charge of Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) Biodiversity Parks Programme and documentation officer Mohan Singh during a field visit of the park, which comes under DDA. It was observed clinging onto a tree, where it was subsequently photographed and identified.

“We quickly photographed it and reached out to bat experts for identification. It was identified as a Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat, a species not seen in Delhi before,” said Khudsar.

Rohit Chakravarty, a Bat researcher at the Nature Conservation Foundation & Bat Conservation International said the only well-known habitat in the country for the species is the western ghats near Karnataka, stating this is the first sighting not just in Delhi-NCR, but northern India too.

“The Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat is a rare species known only from four locations in India and Cambodia. This sighting from Delhi NCR is the first record from anywhere in northern India. It raises several questions about the ecology of this rare bat. It is unknown whether this species migrates. Systematically monitoring areas where the species has been recorded is required to find answers.”

This species was first was discovered in 1913 by British Zoologist Dr. M. R. Oldfield Thomas. Experts said it roosts in caves or dark, damp and little warm places, in moderate colony sizes. It is known to be a powerful flier. As per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the species is classified as Critically Endangered.

Sumit Dookia, assistant professor at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), who has been studying bats in the region for over a decade now said spotting the species in a dense urban metropolis such as Delhi is a good sign on the health of the local environment.

“It gives us a sense of understanding that Delhi’s landscape is still home to many rare and uncommon species“.

HT reported in August last year, citing a long-term study study being carried out by Dookia and his PhD student Rajlakshmi Mishra, how out of the 14 historical species, four species -- the Indian False Vampire Bat (Megaderma lyra), the Black-bearded Tomb Bat (Taphozous melanopogon), the Egyptian Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida aegyptiaca), and the Indian Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus coromandra) — are no longer being seen in Delhi and have likely become locally extinct.