Long days, challenging conditions all worthwhile to save bats
07.14.23
by Kristen Pope
Grasping the fig roots firmly with both hands, Rachel Harper gently eased her right foot down into the tangle of tree roots. Once that foot found purchase, she swung her left foot down into another nook before continuing her 20-foot climb down into St. Clair Cave. She had trekked over a mile from the local Polly Ground community, down a steep, overgrown jungle trail, swatting at clouds of mosquitoes in the stifling 90 degree heat and heavy humidity. As BCI’s Digital Marketing Manager, she had joined members of BCI’s Conservation team, along with a variety of partners, to chronicle their work saving some of Jamaica’s most Critically Endangered bats.
When BCI’s Science and Conservation teams head to seemingly exotic locales like Jamaica to do their field work, they aren’t spending their time on the beaches. They’re donning N95 respirator masks, boots, long pants and sleeves despite the heat, carrying heavy equipment, and battling jet lag while they work until the wee hours of the morning, surveying and collecting data to conserve bats.
The team’s May fieldwork focused on two Critically Endangered bats—the Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat (Natalus jamaicensis) and the Jamaican flower bat (Phyllonycteris aphylla). The team included Director of Endangered Species Interventions Dr. Jon Flanders, Endangered Species Interventions Research Fellow Dr. Melquidesec Gamba-Rios, along with members from BCI’s Subterranean and GIS teams: Jackson Bain, Priyesh Patel, and Josh Hydeman. They joined representatives from partners like Jamaica’s National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Jamaican Cave Organisation, Jamaica’s Urban Development Corporation, and others.
Every field day was different, and the team often split up into smaller groups to travel to different locations and maximize impact. Before and after days in the field, there was still much work to do, including processing data and photos. Along the way, they built relationships with local community members, and even stayed at the home of a local bat supporter. Another local resident prepared their meals, and the team enjoyed traditional Jamaican dishes like ackee and saltfish, as well as an array of foods like breadfruit, chicken, root vegetables, rice, and beans.
While the long hours were expected, fieldwork can come along with a few curveballs. On this trip, the curveball came in the buzzing and stinging variety. As the team worked to catch bats outside a cave on the north side of the island, a hive of nearby bees began stinging the team members.
However, they weren’t deterred by a few bees. The team were on a mission to gather more information about this site as pregnant Jamaican flower bats had been captured emerging from the cave. At night, they trekked far beyond the lighted tourist areas to a spot where they used infrared headlamps and harp traps to see what bats were in the area. They caught 17 male Jamaican flower bats, confirming the species in the area, though they did not find evidence of a maternity colony.
Another stop during the week-long trip was Stony Hill Cave, which is protected by a recent land purchase BCI helped fund and facilitate. The land is now owned and managed by Jamaica’s Natural Resources Conservation Authority. At the cave, the team used infrared cameras to scan the hot cave—which is heated by the decomposition of guano—to look for bat pups, which they found. Gathering photos and videos here was a priority because BCI was working to raise funds to purchase another parcel of land adjacent to the cave, preserving the protective forest the bats depended on. Since the trip, BCI has raised enough money to make the land purchase.
St. Clair Cave—where the team had to climb down fig tree roots to enter—was a spot where the team worked for multiple days. The biggest threat to bats here, likely including the Critically Endangered Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat, is feral cats as evidenced by remnant bat wings littering the ground. A new predator proof fence is now helping keep the cats at bay.
Using seven tripods along with flash and laser sensors, the team set to work collecting images of bats at the site, hoping for a shot of the Jamaican greater funnel-eared bat, which they believed resided in the cave. While they collected many images of bats—including some frames with four different species in a single shot—they did not capture any images of the Jamaican greater funnel-eared bats on the trip. The team also conducted a LiDAR scan of the cave, using an inflatable boat to access flooded areas.
While fieldwork to protect bats is always a challenge and an adventure, complete with difficult conditions, strenuous work, and long hours, the BCI team wouldn’t have it any other way—they are passionate about saving bats.
