Page Sec1:46 - Labyrint 2013 - English Edition

46 ••• Labyrint E/13 – University of Tromsø
fail, then it's a disaster for the individu-
als, but not for the species as a whole. At
least they have tried,” Frafjord says.
Although bats are protected in Norway,
the Norwegian Directorate for Nature
Management does not have a stated goal
to maintain a north Norwegian popula-
tion. Bats further south in Europe also
face an uncertain future, with humans
as the biggest threat. European bats need
two things - shelter and access to insects.
“Habitats for bats in Norway and in the
rest of the world are disappearing. Many
species prefer a mixed landscape, with
both open areas and forests. Agriculture
is becoming more and more of a mono-
culture, and insect-producing areas such
as wetlands and swamps are being devel-
oped. Meanwhile, places where bats can
live are disappearing, as old buildings are
renovated and old trees with cavities are
cut down,” says Frafjord, adding that so
far bats in southern Norway are seem-
ingly holding their own.
Holy bats
Bat evolution is hitherto well hidden by
the fog of time. Scientists know that the
first bats appeared right after the dino-
saurs disappeared, but they have found
very few fossils that help illuminate
the development of flight. The oldest
complete fossil is 53 million years old,
and shows an already fully developed
flying bat, complete with bones related
to echolocation in its ears.
“Previously, it was believed that bats
were closely related to shrews and
hedgehogs, but this idea is now rejected.
Nor are they closely related to mice or
rodents, or pterosaurs, for that matter,”
explains Frafjord.
Bats have historically struggled with a
bad reputation in Europe. They have
been associated with witches, vampires
and the devil, and according to old tales,
they have a habit of getting tangled in
peoples’ hair.
“Hollywood has probably done their
fair share to make bats seem creepy. It
probably also has something to do with
the fact that they are nocturnal, and that
we have trouble seeing them properly.
But in China and Japan, they are seen as
lucky,” says Frafjord.
The very luckiest bats are found on
Tonga. There they are in fact considered
sacred.
FACTS:
Bats are the second largest order of
mammals (only rodents are more
numerous). A quarter of all mammal
species belong to the bat order named
Chiroptera.
Norway has recorded findings of 12
different species of bats, but only the
northern bat can survive north of the
Arctic Circle.
There are two main groups of bats:
micro­bats and megabats. Micro-
bats feed mainly on insects, while
megabats prefer fruit. The latter are
often called flying foxes.
Although several mammals have
evolved the ability to glide over quite
large distances, bats are the only mam-
mal that can truly fly.
The bats are true hibernators, a co-
matose condition in which the body
temperature is lowered close to zero
and the heart beats just a few times a
minute. This is in contrast to the bear,
which actually does not hibernate,
but goes into winter sleep. The bear
lowers its heart rate, but maintains
nearly normal body temperature. Bats
in Northern Norway hibernate from
September / October to June / July.
UNEP has designated 2011-2012 as the
Year of the Bat, in part because of the
bat's decline on a global level.
Source: Year of thebat.o
Bats in Troms spends up to nine months of the year in hibernation. During this time they rely on the 2-4 grams of extra fat they
gained during the summer. Photo: Jeroen van der Kooij
Creatures of the night
Bats prefer not to come out until after sunset, which
can pose a challenge in northern Norway in the
summer. Photo: Jeroen van der Kooij