Rare and endangered species of bats have taken roost in a Swansea folly and this will spell a possible new future for the Sketty landmark.
Two species of horse shoe bats have taken up year around residency in the 19th century grade 2 listed prospect tower originally known as the Belvedere.
The discovery came as Swansea Council looks into ways to give the folly a future to be proud of.
The prospect tower, which was built between 1820 and 1830 for the Morris Family to give views over the surrounding countryside, could now become a significant building in terms of bat conservation.
Bats are very choosy about the sites they roost and unusually they have chosen to remain in the folly all-year-round which makes this site extra special. The folly also has both greater and lesser horseshoe bats.
Cllr Stuart Rice, Swansea Council Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “We’re exploring ways forward to secure the future of the folly.
“The discovery of the bats may now offer fresh ways forward to enable it to have a future significance within its community and beyond.”
Mark Winder, Swansea Council Planning Ecologist, said: “Here we have an opportunity to help threatened species and as a result we will be speaking to various organisations and groups to develop a way forward for this building which will enable the bats to thrive.
“Many roost sites in Britain have been lost over the years through lack or repair or conversion.”
Horseshoe bats are very distinctive as they have an elaborate horseshoe-shaped flap of skin as a nose. It is part of the system they have to navigate and catch their prey.
They hang freely upside down when they rest and they wrap their wings around their body like a cloak. Horseshoe bats are able to wiggle their ears.
The number of horseshoe bats in Britain declined dramatically during the 20th century because of widespread loss of woodland, loss of their roosting sites and the extensive use of pesticides which kill the insects on which they feed.
The lesser horseshoe bat is rare and endangered in the UK and colonies are confined to Wales, western England and western Ireland. They are listed as vulnerable by the 2000 IUCN Red List and have become extinct in much of their former range.
They are one of the smallest British mammal species, only weighing as much as a two pence piece. Their wingspan is half that of the greater horseshoe’s and, with their wings folded, they are only about the size of a plum.
Lesser horseshoes have particularly mobile ears which detect tiny sounds and echoes and help them to catch insects efficiently.
Greater horseshoe bats are also very rare and endangered. Populations are confined to southwest England and south Wales. Their numbers in Britain have declined by over 90 per cent in the last 100 years.
They are one of Britain’s largest bat species -the size of a small pear- and, like the lesser horseshoe bat, have special protection in law.
