Proposal 12 plus

Dear colleagues,


I am Dr Matti Masing, bat scientist from Estonia. Since 2012 I have been proposing international cooperation in the topic Bats in Towns, for this releasing the present website Bats in Towns.

Since 1992 I am using bat detectors to find, count and map bats (Chiroptera) in towns and elsewhere, have done this in various parts of Europe with success.

In autumn 2017 I made a step forward visiting four towns in Germany (Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Bonn and Köln) preparing for bat surveys there.

In spring 2019 I plan to visit Berlin, Potsdam and Düsseldorf with the same aim. Therefore I am now looking for people and organizations interested in cooperation in this topic.

The aim of this activity is to map and count bats at good bat sites in towns by using ultrasound detectors and efficient bat counting methods. And to establish monitoring sites where bats can be counted in the future again, so population trends become visible. I hope this kind of activity is very useful for the community, so people will know much more about bats living around them, and basing on this knowledge can help those animals to survive in modern environments strongly influenced by man.

I believe that the coexistence of bats and man is possible also in our days, as it has been so for thousands of years. A good basis for this coexistence is bat-friendly economy and behaviour, which can only be based on proper knowledge of where bats live and what they need to survive.

Please respond if you have some interest in this topic, so we can discuss it in more detail.

Also, if you know other interested persons, please let them know about this activity.

Best wishes,

Matti Masing,

bat scientist

E-mail: matti.masing (at) gmail.com

http://bats-in-towns.blogspot.com/