Community beyond bats creates Kenya's cave conservation initiatives.
07.02.25
The Trip of a Lifetime to Experience BCI’s Cave Conservation in Kenya
By Kathryn Slater
For just a few moments, try not to think about the bats,” said Dr. Jon Flanders, director of the Endangered Species Interventions (ESI) program at BCI, sitting under a Baobob tree and facing a group of community members in Watamu — a village on the coast of Kenya, north of Mombasa. The people sitting in plastic chairs in a semi-circle facing him make up the community-based organization (CBO) that will become long-term stewards for Kaboga and Makuruhu Caves (and of course, the bats that live there).
This may seem counterintuitive for a bat biologist to utter, but it’s the key to what BCI is trying to do on a global scale. The bats lead us to the work, but the work cannot be done without the support of the people. Going further, the work to help the bats must also help the people, their livelihoods, and their communities at large.
Dr. Flanders continued, “We will think of the bats later. But putting them aside, what challenges are you facing in your community?” Flickers of interest from the group arose as community members started to shift in their seats, getting ready to share. “What are your hopes and ambitions for this area?”
This is a question that looks for deeper meaning behind the project. We know that community support is critical for bat conservation, so this inquiry is important. What stands in the way of the future they seek? How can we make their lives better and support them long-term? The big question in all of this: How does bat conservation help people?
The answers, some in English, and many translated from the local dialect of Swahili into English by Everastus Obura, CEO of Angaza Vijiji — a nonprofit dedicated to fostering sustainable development in underserved and marginalized communities across rural Kenya – were wide ranging.
The community members spoke of challenges, but what they focused on was a communal vision for the future. The desire to plant trees, not only for aesthetics but also to make and sell furniture and firewood. Promoting ecotourism with bats as the focus. Fencing to keep domestic animals out of the cave sites. And a key for all of it, voiced by almost everyone who spoke, was a need for water. With greater access to water, the trees they’re reforesting have a chance at survival.
Sunset at Kaboga Cave, Watamu. Image by Kathryn Slater.
This stop in Watamu was one of many on my recent trip to the coast of Kenya with a few members of the ESI team and photographer extraordinaire, Chris Gallaway of Horizonline Pictures (check out the incredible footage Chris captured while we were in Kenya).
The vision shared by the CBO in Watamu requires financial assistance and on-the-ground support, which is where BCI and partners come in. Dr. David Wechuli, BCI’s Kenya Program Manager, is a full-time staff member and a critical part of the ESI team in Kenya. He is on-the-ground running the project day-to-day, and available to help the CBO as they move forward. Helping Dr. Wechuli is a team made up of academics (including Dr. Paul Webala of Maasai Mara University), graduate students, nonprofit and government partners, and of course, community members. I was welcomed with open arms into this team and was lucky to be in their presence for a few days.
Dr. Paul Webala, Kathryn Slater, and graduate student David Onyimbi at the Three Sisters Cave Complex. Image by Millicent Bungei.
Our trip also brought us to the southern coast of Kenya, to the Three Sisters Cave System in Fikirini. Here, I entered a cave for the first time in my life, held and released a bat, planted native trees, danced (badly) to local music, made life-long friends, and basically stood in complete awe of the community members and my bat biologist coworkers.
Community volunteers in Fikirini spend their free time working at the Three Sisters Cave site and taking trainings that will help them regrow the forest and maintain it into the future. My colleagues, I’ve come to see, work very hard on these trips. The hours are grueling (bats come out at night, which makes for a long day), and the tasks required often fall outside of what you might think of as “conservation” (Dr. Gamba-Rios lugs cases of camera equipment around the world with him to capture footage of bats).
Multiple bat species fly in a Kenyan cave around Dr. Jon Flanders, Kathryn Slater, and Dr. Isabella Mandl. Image by Horizonline Pictures.
For this communications professional, this trip meant the world and reinforced what we already know to be true — it’s impossible to understand the complexities of global conservation without witnessing it close up. The other thing I thought about almost daily when was in Kenya is that travel provides reassurance that despite our differences, human beings are all the same in the ways that matter. We’re all trying to provide for our families, keep our children safe and healthy, and to live lives that are fulfilling and hopeful. Our differences are not something to force into alignment, but rather, they’re what make the world so rich and beautiful. Our world, and the ecosystems that make it up, cannot survive without diversity. This includes diversity of people as well as fauna and flora.
This is why we can’t let species go extinct. Every single species matters, provides special ecosystem services, and lends beauty that no other species can.
“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert
In Kenya, this is so beautifully on display. The bats sing songs that no other bats sing. Their wings beat in time with the ocean waves on the African coast. Without their coral caves, without their beautiful songs, we lose something precious to this world.
Kathryn joined Bat Conservation International in January of 2023. As part of the Development and Communications team, she works to bring the importance of bats and the work of BCI to the masses, tapping into over 10 years of experience in communications and creative direction.
Prior to BCI, she worked in the world of brand design, honing skills in copywriting, brand strategy, art direction, and project management. With a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology and a master’s degree in urban planning, Kathryn is not only savvy in communications and marketing, but also brings a deep understanding of the natural world, and a desire to educate people about the ecosystem services it provides.
Kathryn grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where she spent her undergraduate days studying prairie grasses and ornithology. Today, she lives in western Massachusetts, where she spends her free time hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and cooking for friends.
The Field Team
Jon Flanders, Ph.D. – Director, Endangered Species Interventions
Dr. Jon Flanders is responsible for leading conservation initiatives that effectively address BCI’s global conservation priorities. With over 20 years of experience working on conservation projects across the globe, Jon recognizes the importance of partnerships in delivering social, environmental and economic benefits. Working with a range of organizations, from small non-profits to government departments he can strategically prioritize projects that balance conservation needs with sustainability.
Jon received his Ph.D. from the University of Bristol where he integrated investigations of the ecology, diet, and population genetics of the greater horseshoe bat to advance its conservation. Prior to joining BCI, Jon had worked extensively across Asia and Central America leading a variety of conservation-related research projects, as well as teaching workshops and outreach efforts for local researchers and students.
Jon is an Adjunct Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University and a Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History.
Melquisedec Gamba-Rios, Ph.D. – Regional Director, Latin America & Caribbean
Melquisedec is the ESI Team’s Regional Director for Latin America and & Caribbean Initiatives. In this role, Melqui is responsible for identifying priority areas for the Endangered Species Interventions team to focus, and work with in-country partners to co-develop effective strategies to protect and recover endangered bat species, populations, or habitats.
Melqui has been working with bat ecology and conservation for over 20 years. Originally from Colombia, Melqui conducted most of his research work in Costa Rica. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where he investigated antipredator behaviors in bats and the implication in bat communication and sociality. He has published work on topics including species distribution, habitat selection, and roost requirements for multiple bat species, with a particular emphasis on the neotropics.
David Onyimbi
Roost site selection by the Hildegarde’s Tomb Bat (Taphozous hildegardeae) at the Kenyan Coast
Roost site selection by the Hildegarde’s Tomb Bat (Taphozous hildegardeae) at the Kenyan Coast
Roost sites are an important habitat component for healthy bat populations. They serve as places for social interactions and the raising of young, as well as provide protection from predators and adverse weather. However, the lack in understanding of roost site selection for cavernicolous bats in Kenya hinders the creation of successful conservation initiatives for declining species. This study will investigate roost site selection by the endangered Hildegarde’s Tomb Bat (HTB; Taphozous hildegardeae.) in caves along the Kenyan coast. The study aims to compare the physical characteristics and microclimate (temperature and humidity) of active HTB roosts and non-roosts. Additionally, the external macro-habitats (e.g. Agricultural land, forested area and developed land.) of the roost caves will be described. These factors are important because they influence the choice of roost in bats. The study area includes caves at Watamu (north coast) and Shimoni (south coast) where the HTB has been recorded. The resulting data will be analyzed to find out HTB’s preferred humidity and temperature, the impact of physical characteristics, and the effect of macro-habitat heterogeneity on its choice of roost. Given the ecological and economic significance of bat species, this study is critical to the conservation of not only HTB but also bat species generally, as it is important for updating current Key Biodiversity Areas or proposing new ones. By offering insights into the variables influencing roost selection, it advances the expanding field of bat conservation and can help guide conservation initiatives in Kenya and beyond.
Isabella Mandl, Ph.D. – Regional Director, Africa & South Asia
Isabella has been working on research projects to support the protection of threatened species on
Madagascar and Comoros since 2013. She is a passionate conservation biologist who, besides
highlighting the importance of working with local communities, believes that understanding animal
behaviour is a key component for successful conservation management. Eager to provide support
where she can, Isabella acts as a mentor for students and early career scientists across Africa.
At BCI, Isabella leads the Livingstone’s fruit bat conservation project. She set up a study on the
species’ movements and is responsible for implementing research and survey protocols, with the
goal of understanding how the fruit bats use the landscape. The insights gained through this project
will be applied in conservation measures, preventing this important species from going extinct.
David Wechuli, Ph.D. – Kenya Program Manager
Based in Kenya, David has long-term experience in working with local community-based organizations, leading outreach and conservation activities focused on Kenyan bats and communities. As BCI’s program manager for Kenya, he is in charge of implementing the on-the-ground work for the conservation of endangered bat species and threatened habitats. His passions also include promoting community education and improving people’s livelihoods.
David holds a PhD in Conservation Biology from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, specializing in bat behavioral ecology. Through his research, he investigated variation in echolocation call intensity and detection distance across an environmental gradient for bat assemblages.
Senior Lecturer of Wildlife Biology at Maasai Mara University, Kenya. Dr. Webala is currently the Chair of Bat Conservation Africa. He uses bats as a focal group to understand and interrogate processes that drive rarity and abundance of mammals in natural, and human-dominated, environments. He is primarily a community ecologist, although his research addresses a variety of important questions for improving bat conservation in Africa. His research also spans several subfields of biology, as his work examines behavioral, ecological and systematic/ taxonomic questions. He has authored a number of publications on bat ecology, taxonomy and conservation.
