With the arrival of the winter season, it is time to carry out winter monitoring of cave-dwelling bat species. Our team is taking on the important task of conducting the regular winter monitoring at 28 key sites under the project “LIFE UNDER ONE ROOF / OF BATS AND MEN.”

Some of the caves included in our monitoring list are: Gargina Dupka, Yubileyna, Sukhata Cave, Snezhanka, Manuilova, Kesedzhiitsa, and many others. The species whose hibernation we expect to observe at these sites include: Rhinolophus blasii (Blasius’s horseshoe bat), Miniopterus schreibersii (common bent-wing bat), Myotis bechsteinii (Bechstein’s bat), Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (greater horseshoe bat), and Myotis emarginatus (Geoffroy’s bat).

These remarkable caves provide excellent shelter for bats, which spend the period from November to March in hibernation, with deep winter sleep occurring from December to February. The colonies observed can range from a few dozen to several thousand individuals.

The 33 bat species found in Bulgaria are protected under the Biodiversity Act, as well as by various European directives and conventions. By conducting monitoring and collecting data on different bat colonies, we contribute to assessing the conservation status of bats in Bulgaria—and, by extension, Europe—which is a key element in the implementation of European legislation.