Founded in 1930 The Harrison Institute was a zoological museum specializing in mammals and birds. Today it is a charity facilitating biodiversity conservation, registered in the United Kingdom and listed under CITES. Out of an array of many projects, one of the Institute’s research focuses on the protection of South East Asian bats.

With 155 species, the bat fauna of continental Southeast Asia is particularly rich and represents over 25% of the known mammal fauna from the region. Today, there is a growing awareness of the role bats play in the ecosystem as pollinators, seed dispersers and as vectors of pest control and there is a desire to understand more about their diversity, distribution, behaviour, ecology and last but certainly not least conservation status. The Institute seeks to promote their study and conservation by catering to the information needs of the professional zoologist, conservationist, student and interested amateur alike.

Indeed, one of their projects supervised by Doctor Paul Bates concerns the protection of the Kitti’s Hog Nosed Bat in Southeast Asia. In 2001, a team from the Harrison Institute working with colleagues from Yangon (Rangoon) University were the first to discover this bat in Myanmar (Burma), as previously it was thought to be restricted to a small area of western Thailand. Subsequently the Institute worked with a range of students and bat experts to learn more about the distribution, ecology and conservation status of this species in the limestone outcrops of Mon and Kayin State in eastern Myanmar. In Thailand, colleagues from the Prince of Songkla University together with the University College Dublin undertook exhaustive surveys of the roosting sites of these tiny creatures in Kanchanaburi State and also began to learn more about its fascinating population biology.

Now, they wish to develop their role in promoting awareness of the importance of this species as a unique, enchanting but threatened member of the fauna of Southeast Asia. They need to assist with its conservation by explaining to those in authority and to the public generally how important bats are to the ecosystem and at the same time how vulnerable this species is to disturbance by man and how they can facilitate its protection by taking just a few simple steps, for example by avoiding entering those caves where the bat is known to roost. The next phase of their collaborative work is to ensure that this extraordinary creature survives in perpetuity so that future generations can enjoy learning about its amazing life history and be proud that their nation is home to such an exquisite example of nature.

Pictures Copyright Harrison Institute

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