{"id":226199,"date":"2025-06-30T08:47:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T08:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/226199\/"},"modified":"2025-06-30T08:47:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T08:47:09","slug":"rare-uk-discovery-in-thriving-devon-habitat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/226199\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare UK discovery in thriving Devon habitat"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s one of Britain’s rarest mammalsA grey long-eared bat \u2013 one of the UK\u2019s rarest mammals \u2013 is held under licence by a trained expert at Seaton Wetlands after being caught in a harp trap as part of a research study.<\/p>\n

A bat walk at a Devon nature reserve has led to the discovery of one of Britain\u2019s rarest mammals \u2013 the elusive grey long-eared bat.<\/p>\n

The species, which numbers fewer than 1,000 individuals in the UK, was recorded at Seaton Wetlands after an evening event led by the East Devon<\/a> District Council Countryside Team. It is only the second confirmed sighting at the site, with the last recorded in 2013.<\/p>\n

Following the public event, nature reserves ranger Ben Morgan-Brown joined Professor Fiona Mathews, an international bat expert, for further trapping as part of a migration study focused on Nathusius\u2019 pipistrelle. Although they were unable to capture the target species, a female grey long-eared bat was unexpectedly caught in one of Fiona\u2019s harp traps.<\/p>\n

Recognisable by its unusually large ears and distinct from its brown long-eared cousin by features such as thumb size, the grey long-eared bat requires specific conditions to survive \u2013 ones that are increasingly rare in the UK.<\/p>\n

Seaton Wetlands, along with small patches of nearby farmland, offers the ideal environment. Its species-rich wet grassland supports the moths, crane flies and midges the bats depend on for food.<\/p>\n

So far, 14 of Devon\u2019s 16 bat species have been recorded at the site, including other rarities like Bechstein\u2019s, greater horseshoe and barbastelle bats.<\/p>\n

Councillor Richard Jefferies, portfolio holder for environment \u2013 nature and climate, said: \u201cTo find a grey long-eared bat at Seaton Wetlands is a fantastic accolade for the district and demonstrates the remarkable work the East Devon District Council Countryside Team undertake to support wildlife restoration and conservation at each of our nature reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Fiona Mathews, chair of Mammal Conservation Europe, added: \u201cBats are a vital part of our native wildlife. They are an indicator species, meaning their presence tells us a lot about the health of the environment. The diversity of bats at Seaton Wetlands is a strong sign of a thriving and healthy ecosystem, not just for bats but for a wide range of other wildlife and its fantastic to find a grey long-eared bat at the reserve for the second time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Morgan-Brown said: \u201cAs I train towards my bat licence I\u2019ve been lucky enough to encounter several rare species, but nothing will beat the moment I realised we were extracting a grey long-eared bat from the harp trap. To be able to handle and inspect such a rare species under Fiona\u2019s supervision is an experience I\u2019ll never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further information about the East Devon District Council Countryside Team and their upcoming bat walk events is available at wildeastdevon.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s one of Britain’s rarest mammalsA grey long-eared bat \u2013 one of the UK\u2019s rarest mammals \u2013 is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3847],"tags":[89177,89178,70,16,15,1717],"class_list":{"0":"post-226199","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-east-devon","9":"tag-east-devon-district-council","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114771450101368707","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}