Scientists named the miniature Olympian after the dwarf who flew 2018 kilometers from Britain to Russia. Biologists hope its path will provide further additions to the impact of climate change on species.
The dwarf bristle bat (Nathusius’ pipistrelle) was found in a village in the Pskov region of northwest Russia, according to the British Bat Restoration Trust, which works to conserve bat species.
The eight-gram animal, barely the size of a human thumb, was shaved in 2016 by experts near London’s Heathrow Airport.
Unfortunately, shortly after his arrival in Russia, he was attacked by a cat and he died despite the efforts of Russian species conservationists.
„It’s a trip like no other, and the longest we know of between Britain and Europe at bat. What an Olympian“
Said Lisa Worledge, one of the leaders of the British organization.
The pygmy dwarf bat is found throughout Europe from the United Kingdom to Asia Minor, from Portugal to the Caspian Sea, Saint Petersburg in the north, and Greece in the south. It lives sporadically in the southern part of Hungary.
Some recent studies suggest that, unlike in the past, winter is now spent further north. Their numbers are increasing in the British Isles.
According to researchers, this is
Migration to the north is linked to climate change, and the British organization is working with amateur scientists to study migration routes and understand how species are affected by climate change.
The journey between Britain and Russia is one of the longest with a jagged dwarf bat and the longest it has traveled from west to east. Most of these long journeys were recorded from Latvia to the west. A person from Latvia traveled to Spain a distance of 2,224 kilometers.
Cover image illustration.
