Nearly 100 bats rescued then released

BOLTON-EST | No less than 98 bats saved by biologists and volunteers have been released in the past few days thanks to a unique program in Quebec consisting in ensuring their protection.

“These bats would have died if they had been released during the winter,” explains biologist Louis Lazure, initiator of a unique program in Quebec consisting in ensuring the protection of small cave mammals.

In total, more than 500 bats have found refuge since the launch of the protection program in 2015.

Since May 17, two dozen animals have safely returned to the sky after spending the winter in a room at the Granby Zoo kept at 5°C, ideal for hibernation. Not to mention the dozens of others released by similar shelters in Trois-Rivières and Lévis.

For the Nature Conservation volunteers, who attended the scene last Tuesday evening in Bolton-Est, in the Eastern Townships, it was an impressive sight to see these little beasts spread their Batman wings and soar into the sky.

“They are going to do us a favor by eating the mosquitoes,” jokes Dyane Constantin.

Fatal illness

Threatened by a deadly disease that wreaks havoc on colonies, white-nose syndrome, the eight species of bats present in Quebec need a little boost to survive the loss of habitat caused by the urbanization and the use of pesticides.

In return, they serve humans not only by gobbling up huge numbers of biting insects, but also by preying on pest species in agriculture and forestry.

It was to protect them that Louis Lazure launched the idea of ​​a winter refuge for animals captured in inhabited areas.

“When people find a bat in their attic in the middle of winter, they can send it to one of the designated sites,” says the Granby Zoo biologist who trained the managers of the two other shelters.

Back to Coaticook

The program is working well, but “we would like to open other shelters north of Montreal and in the Outaouais,” says the zoo’s research coordinator.

Biologists take the opportunity to place an identification ring on the individuals, which makes it easier to follow their movements.

“We found a bat last year in the same house in Coaticook where it had been caught the previous winter. »

A bat lives more than 20 years in nature

Females give birth to one or two babies per year.

• All insectivorous, the eight species found in Quebec are protected. Three are endangered: the northern bat, the little brown bat and the eastern pipistrelle.
• Three species migrate at the approach of winter, the others hibernate in caves, abandoned mines and… houses.
• The species most often rescued is the big brown bat, but little brown, red and hoary bats have also been collected.
• In addition to winter refuges, biologists have set up various initiatives to ensure the survival of bats, including outdoor roosts. Some are heated.