Read on Twitter
If you hadn’t heard: today is #WorldConservationDay! A day dedicated to increasing awareness about the best practices to protect nature
And because I’m all about the bats, here’s a thread of some folks that are doing some rad work in bat conservation
1/
And because I’m all about the bats, here’s a thread of some folks that are doing some rad work in bat conservation
1/
I must start with my childhood hero, the man that put bat conservation on the map, Founder & former Head of Bat Conservation International, Merlin Tuttle. He retired from BCI in 2009 & founded Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation ( @MerlinsBats) in 2014.
https://www.merlintuttle.org
2/
https://www.merlintuttle.org
2/
Bat Conservation International ( @BatConIntl), the mothership of modern bat conservation, is headquartered in Austin, TX, USA and has a reach that spans the globe. They have initiatives in more countries than most people will ever visit. I like them.
https://www.batcon.org
3/
https://www.batcon.org
3/
In the UK is Bat Conservation Trust ( @_BCT_), a MASSIVE force for bat good in the way of research, training, education, and outreach in communities across England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
https://www.bats.org.uk/
4/
https://www.bats.org.uk/
4/
“What about the rest of Ireland?” Glad you asked. There’s Bat Conservation Ireland ( @BatConservIre) acting as an umbrella group for local bat groups across the country, as well as getting involved in a big way in education and training.
https://www.batconservationireland.org/
5/
https://www.batconservationireland.org/
5/
Back in Texas we have Bat World Sanctuary ( @batworld) which is an incredible organization with a large social media presence, working hard to make bats visible, loved, and protected. Among other things, they permanently house non-releasable bats!
https://batworld.org/
6/
https://batworld.org/
6/
Also in Texas is Austin Bat Refuge ( @AustinBatRefuge), a staple of the Austin bat community and home to the “bat garden,” a garden and flight cage for rehabilitation and training batlings to fly before releasing them back into the wild.
https://austinbatrefuge.org/
7/
https://austinbatrefuge.org/
7/
On the other side of the world, the Australasian Bat Society ( @AusBats) works to promote the conservation and study of bats in Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, Melanesia, and Wallacea.
http://ausbats.org.au/
8/
http://ausbats.org.au/
8/
In Taiwan there is the Bat Conservation Society of Taipei (find them on IG @ bats_taiwan), building bridges between local culture and the bats that live in and around it.
http://www.batinfo.org/
9/
http://www.batinfo.org/
9/
Bats Without Borders ( @bats_w_borders) is working to conserve bats, biodiversity, and healthy ecosystems in the ever-changing landscape of South Africa.
https://www.batswithoutborders.org/
10/
https://www.batswithoutborders.org/
10/
And y’all, this is just *scratching the surface.* This doesn’t even begin to touch on the individuals, the smaller bat groups, or the government organizations that are engaged in bat conservation at some level. There are so many deserving folks being left unnamed here!
11/
11/
But suffice it to say, bats are being loved, healed, and protected all over the world. So on this #WorldConservationDay I lift a glass to those people and their work:
To bats and their defenders!
12/12
To bats and their defenders!
12/12
