Bats are often overlooked in an ecosystem, and in the case of this otherworldly species, it was considered to be extinct for 40 years! The critically endangered and endemic Hill’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hilli) was rediscovered in Nyungwe National Park in 2019.
In 2022, in collaboration with Bat Conservation International and Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association, Nyungwe’s Conservation and Research team managed to catch a single individual, fitting it with a radio transmitter and tracking it back to its roost in a hollow tree. Nine more individuals were observed in the tree, making the site the first roost of the species known to science.
The team visits the roost once per month to film the emergence of the bats and count the number of individuals using infrared cameras. Between eight and ten bats have been consistently counted each month over the last year.
To monitor the distribution and habitat use of this rare species, acoustic sensors are being deployed across the forest that detect the bats’ echolocation calls. Rhinolophus hilli calls have now been detected at 39 sites across the park, extending the known range for a species previously found only in a small section of Nyungwe National Park.
Together with an ongoing (and the first ever) dietary assessment of Rhinolophus hilli, these research and monitoring efforts give vital insight into best practices for future conservation of this elusive bat.