page_title: Kasanka National Park
section_title: Bats
hierarchical_section_title: Kasanka National Park / Fauna / Bats
caption_attribution_description: English: Eidolon helvum, Zoological Garden Berlin, Germany
context_page_description: Kasanka National Park is a park located in the Serenje District of Zambia’s Central Province. At roughly 390 km², Kasanka is one of Zambia’s smallest national parks. Kasanka was the first of Zambia’s national parks to be managed by a private-public partnership. The privately funded Kasanka Trust Ltd has been in operation since 1986 and undertakes all management responsibilities, in partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife. The park has an average elevation between 1,160 m and 1,290 m above mean sea level. It has a number permanent shallow lakes and water bodies with the largest being Wasa. There are five perennial rivers in the park, with the largest being the Luwombwa River. The Luwombwa is the only river that drains the NP, which flows out in the northwestern corner. It is a tributary of the Luapula, which further upstream also drains the Bangweulu Swamp and forms the main source of the Congo River. Although Kasanka NP is part of the Greater Bangweulu Ecosystem, there is no direct hydrological connection between the park and the Bangweulu Wetlands.
  A total of 114 mammal species have been recorded in the park including elephant, hippopotamus and sitatunga.
context_section_description: The first of Kasanka’s famous straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) start arriving towards the middle of October each year. By mid-November the roost has reached its highest density and numbers are estimated to be around eight to ten million. It is believed to be the highest density of mammalian biomass on the planet, as well as the greatest known mammal migration. The arrival of the bats normally coincides with the start of the first rains and the ripening of many local fruit and berry species such as the masuku (wild loquat) and waterberry, on which the bats feed. It is estimated that 330,000 tonnes of fruits are consumed by the bats during the three months.
  The bat roost is centred on one of the largest remaining patches of Mushitu (indigenous forest) in Kasanka along the Musola stream. There are a number of excellent 'hides' in trees at the edge of the forest which provide fantastic sightings of the bats in flight at dawn and dusk.  The high concentration of bats attracts an incredibly variety of predators and scavengers to the bat forest. Martial eagles, pythons, fish eagles, lesser-spotted and African hawk-eagles, kites, vultures and hobby falcons are amongst the raptors that concentrate on the roost for easy pickings, whereas leopard, water monitors and crocodiles make off with those bats unfortunate enough to drop to the forest floor.
  The origin of the various colonies that make up this 'mega-colony' has never been fully established, however it is known that bats travel from other parts of Africa including Congo.  Studies indicate that the abundance of fruits during the season are the major reason for the migration. The bats arrival starts gradually during the first week of October, numbers peak in November and early December. Numbers start to decrease around the second week of December. The departure of the last bats has been getting later over recent years, with the final bats now generally leaving Kasanka in early January.  A study published in the African Journal of Ecology indicated that the migratory impact of the bats could ultimately threaten the viability of the seasonal roost as it increases faster tree mortality. The Kasanka Trust undertakes an extensive fire management program to protect the forest from the devastating fires which over time has reduced the size of the forest. A 'Fire Exclusion Zone' has been established which over time will allow natural regeneration of the bats forest in order to protect the unique phenomenon.
caption: Image of Eidolon helvum, straw-coloured fruit bat
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