Harrisoni’s Giant Mastiff Bat (Otomops harrisoni)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 232532911

Exploring new habitats for the better conservation of the endangered Harrison's giant mastiff bat in Rwanda

Harrisoni’s giant mastiff bat (Otomops harrisoni) is a vulnerable species globally, and it’s known to roost in caves, as it was proven by this research in Rwanda. We used local community knowledge along with cave identification forms to locate bat caves, and a set of complementary methods, including acoustic monitoring, mist nets, and hand nets, were used to identify the roost of O. harrisoni and other cave dwelling bat species diversity within the mapped caves of Rwanda. We documented the major threats in an eyesight range to the cave habitat of bats that included waste dumping in the cave habitat, cave modifications for tourism purposes, people using bat cave habitat as prayer sanctuaries, as well as negative perceptions people hold on bats that could negatively impact bat conservation, particularly the Otomops harrisoni roosting in caves, as the majority of the threats faced are the anthropogenic threats. Though the majority of the local community perceives bats negatively, there are other community members who reported bats to be of crucial importance because they get manure from bats guano from the caves, which increases their agricultural productivity, and those particular caves were less threatened compared to others, which brings to the fact that the more people know how crucial bats are, the less threatening happens.

Project document

• Species photo




Project 232532911 location - Rwanda, Africa