WNPS Youth Wing’s Halloween special; Exploring the secret world of bats
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Prof Wipula Yapa
It’s a Halloween special from the Youth Wing of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society as Professor Wipula Yapa, a former professor in Zoology at the Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences of the University of Colombo enlightens viewers on the crucial role played by bats in their ecosystems.
This skills workshop by the Youth Wing of the WNPS with its partner National Development Bank (NDB) is on today, October 31 at 10 a.m. and all you have to do is sign up on: https://forms.gle/rrJr1Cw67YbrF81U9
Many consider bats to be evil, creepy, scary and even dangerous. On the contrary, they are an important species that impact our daily lives in ways we might not even realize. From pollinating our favourite fruits and dispersing seeds, bats play an essential role in providing us with valuable ecosystem services. They are the only group of mammals capable of true flight and are essentially nocturnal, when vision is of little use. Bats have solved the problems of avoiding obstacles and finding their food in the dark by evolving an intricate system of using sounds and echoes reflected from objects, which is known as echolocation or Biosonar.
Most probably, due to these two unique specialisations– echolocation and flight, bats have become one of the most successful groups of mammals living today with over 1400 species worldwide.
But since they cluster in large colonies, a million bats can be wiped out in less than a few minutes. The Youth Wing has dedicated the last week of October to raise awareness about this elusive and misunderstood species on their social media.
Bat - Rhinolopus lankadiva by Ranil Nanayakkara