MAMMALS

BATS

Michael Trump's photograph is of a large bat with a wingspan of over 30cm flying just before noon at the back of Hainault Lake. It looks Nyctalus-like with narrow wings and more likely to be Noctule than Leisler's although they look similar in flight. Bats are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Hainault Forest provides a home for many bat species including the rare Barbastelle recorded by static detectors in the Old Farm Buildings during 2017, the first recorded in London since the 1950s. Bats are in decline due to extensive loss of deciduous woodland and fragmentation of natural habitats associated with development. The Barbastelle Bat lives in crevices of old trees in mature forests with roosts found in only a handful of locations.

The second picture by Raymond Small was taken on one of Vision's Bat Walks. Bats and their roosts are legally protected and a licence is required for trapping. You may notice that the expert is wearing gloves - this is because bats can be infected with rabies bat lyssavirus.

Choose from the menu to learn more about the amazing world of wildlife in Hainault Forest...

• Badgers
• Bats
• Fallow Deer
• Foxes
• Hedgehogs
• Mice
• Moles
• Muntjac Deer
• Rabbits
• Rats
• Red Deer (Bedfords Park)
• Shrews
• Squirrels
• Weasels and Stoats