Kenya
Kenya
Collaborative Conservation on the Coast of Kenya
On Kenya’s coast, bats like the Endangered Hildegarde’s tomb bat exclusively use coral caves for roosting. However, deforestation and urban development are destroying this vital habitat leaving the bats with no alternatives. Just two caves are home to 70% of Kenya’s Hildegarde tomb bat population, and BCI is working to protect them. Deforestation and landscape degradation are the main threats at Makuruhu and the Three Sisters caves, where the insectivorous bats are losing the vegetation they need to find food. Kaboga Cave, located in an area popular with tourists, is faced with rapid urban development, with most of the area already converted into buildings, such as hotels. To protect this vital habitat, BCI purchased the land surrounding Kaboga Cave for our Kenyan partner organization Angaza Vijiji to manage. While Hildegarde’s tomb bat is one of the critical bats we’re working to save, other bats, such as the African trident bat and striped leaf-nosed bat, also rely on these important caves. Our work offers hope for the future of these species, as we partner with community members to attain ecological balance while protecting bats and supporting community livelihoods.
Fikirini (Tswaka Giant Three Sisters Caves) Tswaka Giant Three Sisters Caves are located by Fikirini village, and it is an important site for Hildegarde’s tomb bats and a number of other imperiled bat species. We are working with the community to protect bats and community livelihoods.
Watamu (Kaboga and Makuruhu caves) Near Watamu, BCI purchased Kaboga Cave in order to protect it from development. This area in coastal Kenya is very popular among tourists, and the cave was in imminent danger of hotel development. Nearby Makuruhu Cave is also vital for these bat populations, and we are working closely with the neighboring community to protect the cave and the surrounding land.
Kenya
Hildegarde’s tomb bat
Just two caves are home to 70% of Kenya’s Hildegarde tomb bat population, and BCI is working to protect them. With partners, we purchased the land surrounding Kaboga Cave, which was in imminent danger from nearby development, to protect the bats that live there.
The Need
Hildegarde’s tomb bat (Taphozous hildegardeae) is endemic to East Africa, where it has a limited range on the coastal strip of Tanzania and Kenya. Similar to other bat species in Kenya’s coastal forests, it is threatened by widespread deforestation (loss of hunting grounds) and cave destruction and disturbance (loss of roosting sites) linked to agricultural and urban expansion. Deforestation is accelerated by a need for charcoal, fuelwood, and construction timber. In Kenya, only two Hildegarde’s tomb bat cave roosts are thought to support around 70% of the remaining population. With at least four known cave roost sites destroyed since monitoring began, there is an urgent need to protect the remaining caves before they are lost forever.
Our Approach
The geographic isolation and location of each roost calls for adaptive conservation management strategies for this species of bat. This is being made possible through a growing Kenya-based collaboration that includes a conservation non-profit (Angaza Vijiji), an academic partner (Maasai Mara University), a government agency (Kenya Wildlife Service), and community led organizations. This partnership base allows us to simultaneously address ecological, social, and economic issues ensuring the work benefits bats and people.
Our Impact
In the last year we have helped establish the Tswaka Giant Three-Sister Caves Community-Based Organization. Over the next year we will work with the community of Fikirini to develop appropriate management strategies that benefit the bats as well as enhance the local community. In total, this project will not only save Hildegarde’s tomb bat from extinction but also benefit more than 15 species representing millions of bats.
About The Bat
The Kenya Team
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
