Bats of the Global South
%
of all classified mammal species worldwide are bats
of the 1426 known bat species are in the Global South
%
of bat species are considered to be at risk from extinction
Without bats’ pollination and seed-dispersing services, many local ecosystems could gradually collapse.
Nevertheless, bats are largely misunderstood, undervalued and understudied.
More than 2 in 3 bat species call the Global South home. This means our region is disproportionately affected by the lack of bat study & conservation. To make matters more challenging, wildlife research in the Global South is faced with distinct economic, political and cultural challenges. The outcome is we know very little about bat distribution, ecology and conservation status in the Global South.
Give me the hard facts
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) redlist currently has conservation assessments for only 1304 bat species.
- Of these, 200 species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered by IUCN.
- 244 species remain data deficient!
