KIGALI, Rwanda ― Following the recent rediscovery of the critically endangered Hill’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hilli) at Nyungwe National Park in southwestern Rwanda, researchers are calling for actions and policies aimed at their conservation. Scientists say that this is the first sighting and documentation of the horseshoe bat Rhinolophus webalaiin the park and Rwanda’s first observation of the Damara woolly bat (Kerivoula argentata) since it was last observed in 1981. According to Paul Webala, a senior lecturer in wildlife biology at the department of forestry and wildlife management at Kenya’s Maasai Mara University, scientists consider bats the second-most diverse group of mammals after rodents. In countries like Rwanda, he says, where most of the natural forests and savannah habitats have been lost, altered or degraded, bats may comprise “at least 40% of the overall mammal diversity.” According to a 2022 study that Webala co-authored, insectivorous bats in Rwanda provide critical ecosystem services and also act as pest controllers in agricultural areas. Health concerns, and habitat loss “In Rwanda, one of the [bat] species of concern, although not threatened according to the IUCN Red List, is the Egyptian fruit bat [Rousettus aegyptiacus] because it has been identified by health officials as a natural reservoir host for the Marburg virus disease,” Webala says. In February this year, Rwandan health officials decided to construct a wall in a mining site located in Nyamirambo a suburb of the capital city Kigali separating a working area from the bats’ habitat. “This barrier is intended to reduce…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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