Bat emergency care station

The emergency care station for bats at Wildnispark Zurich

In Switzerland, many bat species are endangered or even threatened. By operating an emergency care station for bats, Wildnispark Zurich aims to protect and strengthen these fascinating native mammals. In cooperation with the Stiftung Fledermausschutz, the Langenberg Wildlife Park set up the emergency care station in spring 2022. Here, exhausted and injured animals are cared for and then released back into the wild. Donations for the emergency care station are welcome.

Found a bat?

Please contact the emergency phone for bats: 079 330 60 60.

On bats

Family

The native bat species belong to four families: vespertilionid bats (Vespertilionidae; 26 species), horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae; 2 species), free-tailed bats (Molossidae; 1 species) and long winged bats (Miniopteridae; 1 species).

Distribution

Bats occur throughout Switzerland.

Habitat

Depending on the species, bats prefer caves or crevices for shelter. These can be, for example, cracks in trees, woodpecker caves, rock crevices, attics of old churches or piles of firewood. For orientation, bats need terrain which is rich in structures. Therefore, they benefit from hedges that connect sleeping and hunting grounds. They avoid areas with artificial lighting.

Lifestyle

Bats are crepuscular to nocturnal. They hibernate to bridge the period when they cannot hunt insects. Some species migrate like migratory birds: females fly to insect-rich northeastern Europe in spring, where they raise their young.

Reproduction

From May to August, several females gather in nursery roosts to raise their young together. Usually each female gives birth to only one young. Twins are rare. At birth, bats already have large feet to hold on tightly when hanging upside down.

Food

In Switzerland, all bats feed exclusively on insects. They prey on them in flight.

Senses

Bats use the echo of their calls for orientation: They hear how these calls are reflected by obstacles or prey insects. This allows them to get an idea of their surroundings even in the dark. The calls are not audible to humans because they are in the ultrasonic range. In addition to echo orientation, bats also use their senses of sight and smell for orientation and hunting. For long distances, at least some species have a magnetic sense with which they can sense the earth's magnetic field.

Endangerment

All bat species in Switzerland are under protection. The main threat are landscape changes. Bats need structurally rich, night-dark terrain with suitable retreats as well as a rich supply of insects. Therefore, they suffer from a lack of hedges and trees, light pollution and intensive agriculture. In addition, their hiding places are often destroyed during renovations of buildings.

Everyone can do something to protect bats: native flowers on the balcony and nature-orientated gardens with native flowering plants, dead wood and ponds support insects and thus the food supply of bats. Avoid artificial lighting whenever possible. Bat boxes provide daytime hiding places for the animals.

For more on native bat species and their protection, visit www.fledermausschutz.ch (German only).