SANParks.org Forums

Hi there,

I am new to this forum and passionately interested in bats. I will visit Kruger in March and would like ask you guys whether you could tell me about good spots for bat sightings? I am a behavioral ecologist and work mainly with neotropical bats. All African bats are therfore new to me and I am excited to learn as much as I can!

Thanks in advance fr your help!

Kolf

Hi Kolf, and a warm welcome to the forums!!

Which camps are you staying in? Letaba, Berg en Dal, for eg, have bat hotels in the camp. I have always found them to be very active in the camps (most camps) early evening ... although I battle to get a good look at them. I am sure with your experienced eye, you will pick out bats fairly easily

Here are some topics that might help you:

Skukuza fruit bat sightings

Bats at Skukuza

More bat sightings

Hi DinkyBird,

thank you for the information and the links to the bat topics! I will stay in Punda Maria, Shingwedzi, Letaba, Satara and Skukuza - and probably stop at every picnic site on the way to see whether I can find some bats :-) I am really looking forward to the African species, everything is new to me!

All the best,
Kolf

Hi There Kolf,

I have been in contact with you over email the past few days and gave you some roost sites at Letaba. Just wanted to check if you wanted some more roost sites for various other places within Kruger?

Hi Batmad,

more roost sites in other camps would be greatly appreciated! But if you do that I will probably bother you to check the ID of a bazillion of bat pictures later... :-)

Cheers,
Kolf

Nick H, i unfortunately cannot see your photographs?

Hi all.

I'm visiting Kruger in October and I would also welcome any information on where to find various bat roosts.

I'm staying at Satara, Shukuza, Olifants and Mopani and already know about Walhberg's Fruit Bats in Shukuza and the Angola Free-tailed Bats in the bridge at Olifants.

Any other sites would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to PM me.

Kind regards

Mike

MikeR, welcome to the forums.

I seem to recall calling in at Nyawutsi bird hide on the S50 on the way up to Shingwedzi and seeing bats in there. I have no idea what bats they are, I do not look that closely,

Hi MikeR a warm welcome from me too. I know that there are some bats in the ladies toilets at Mlondozi Picnic Spot - not sure which they are . I am sure Batmad will pop in here soon and give you loads of info.

Thanks for the warm welcomes and advice so far. I'm really looking forward to my time in Kruger having never visited the area before.

Mike- I drafted up a whole long response for you but my login seems to be giving me hassles- i will try again tomorrow morning

Olifants: This camp is most deffinatly known for its Free Tailed's and has had some serious problems over the years with these bats. Unfortunately some bad decisions have been made but some good ones have made up for them. The two dominant species within the camp are Angolan free Tailed (Mops condylurus) and Little Free Tailed Bat (Chaerephon pumilus) and they can both be found roosting in the various thatch structures within the camp. Fruit bats are mostly absent from olifants however one can sometimes here the distant call of males. The camp is also utilized by Horseshoe bat Species and if one looks in dark, secluded area's you may find one or two (these species may vary from R.Simulator to R.Clivosus)

Satara: This camp is good for Fruit Bats, they are often found hanging around in the tree's and under the thatch roofs. Some other species such as Cape Serotine (Neromica capensis) and Yellow Bellied House Bat (Scotophilus dinganii) also show from now and then and one can also see the parks two most common bats, Little and Angolan Free Tailed Bats.

Skukuza: Best known for its Fruit bats (Peters and Walhbergs) this camp provides a variety of different species. I Must admit however that i have not spent a lot of time in this camp, however the suround picnic spots, Mlondozi and Nkuhlu provide amazing views of Sundevalls Leaf nosed Bat (Hipposideros caffer) in the toilets.

Mopani: I have yet to spend a lot of time in this camp but will be heading up their next week, but for now i can tell you that the two Free Tailed species rule this camp lol, however the surrounding hollow tree's can house other species such as Common Slit Faced Bat (Nycteris thebaica) and Green House Bat (Scotophilus viridis). I will provide some more information on this camp when i return in two weeks time from my trip there.

Hope this helps

That's fantastic Batmad. Hopefully I'll have some photos for you to help me ID when I get back!

I look forward to hearing how you get on in Mopani.

Many thanks

Mike

I Look forward to it mike Feel free to ask any questions you have and i will be more than happy to help