VWTImpactReport28Oct2025PT - Flipbook - Page 24
©Daniel Hargreaves
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Barbastelles and Bechstein’s bats
What is VWT’s impact?
Over the past 30 years, VWT’s research has played a pivotal
role in deepening our understanding of two of Britain’s
most elusive woodland bat species and how to effectively
monitor them. We have developed evidence-based
approaches, including some of the 昀椀rst radio-tracking
studies and ringing schemes, and have funded PhDs to
develop robust detection and monitoring methods — all of
which have yielded invaluable insights into the life history
and social structure of these two species.
condition of the trees within these mapped woodlands.
There is a risk of these rare bats disappearing before we
have had a chance to understand the species and the
measures needed to conserve them.
Barbastelle range in 1975 and 2018
1975
2018
Why is there a need?
Both rare woodland bat species in Britain, the
barbastelle is listed as Vulnerable across England and
Wales, and the Bechstein’s bat as Endangered in Wales.
Both are thought to have reduced in number due to loss
and fragmentation of healthy, ancient woodland. There
are still uncertainties around population size estimates
as they are notoriously dif昀椀cult to study because they
roost in cracks, crevices and under loose bark high up in
tree canopies. They also move regularly between roosts
across a season.
Bechstein’s bat range in 1975 and 2018
1975
Much of the ecology and distribution of these two
species remains poorly understood, but Britain’s
barbastelle population is estimated at around 30,000
with a range thought to be around 74,000km2 — but
colonies are sparsely distributed in the landscape and
considered absent from many areas of their former
range. The Bechstein’s bat population is estimated
to be 21,800 across 23,000km2.
Barbastelle and Bechstein’s bats are excellent indicators
of healthy, ancient woodland, with their presence or
absence acting as early warning systems for biodiversity
and the health of ecosystems. With an estimated 70%
already lost, ancient woodlands make up only 2.5% of
the landcover across Britain with little known about the
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Vincent Wildlife Trust 50 Years Impact Report 2025
2018
