Guwahati: Scientists from Bat Conservation Trust and Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, have, for the first time, found Wroughton’s free-tailed bat in an open limestone cliff located next to a stream in Meghalaya.
The Wroughton’s free-tailed bat (Otomops wroughtoni) is classified as Data Deficient under the IUCN Red List due to inadequate information on its distribution, population, and ecology. The species was previously recorded from the Belgaum district of Karnataka, from the East Khasi Hills and the Jaintia Hills districts of Meghalaya and in Cambodia, represented by a single specimen.
The scientists studied bats at 19 Community Reserves between October 2021 and January 2022 using physical search, mist netting and acoustic study and have identified a new colony of O. wroughtoni from the Mikadogre village in South Garo Hills District of Meghalaya, which extends the current distribution to 135 km from the nearest known distribution site.
Scientists associated with the study said unlike other known roosts of O. wroughtoni, which are in large caves with high roofs and deep crevices or cupolas, this roost was in the open limestone cliff located next to a stream. “This has changed our perception that the Wroughtons don’t really require a very high roof,” Rajesh Puttaswamaiah Citizen Scientist and Trustee of Bat Conservation Trust told EastMojo.
In addition to this, a new breeding colony of the species from Pynurkba was also found. Meghalaya has the highest bat diversity in the country.
The Wroughton’s free-tailed bat (Otomops wroughton) is one of the four free-tailed bat species found in India. It can be identified by its large size with an average forearm length of 65 mm, large ears connected over the forehead region, small triangular tragus, nostrils projecting sideways beyond the lower lip and long protruding tail.
Much of the forestland in the state is owned by native people, except for a few Reserved Forests and Protected Areas, thus promoting the community conservation reserves. This has resulted in the declaration of 72 Community Reserves in the state and the survey of chiropteran taxa was conducted between October 2021 and January 2022.
The study published in Mammalia Journal says none of the known roosts in Meghalaya are protected and are not within any Community Reserves though the roost in Mikadogre is very close to the Community Reserve boundary. The community around Pynurkba are also against the land being converted into a Community Reserve making it difficult to protect the species. However, some forest area near the cave was declared as Ka KhlawUmthalong Community Reserve in 2020.
“There is regular hunting for meat across all caves as per the insights obtained through locals. The local villagers are not aware of the rarity of the species and the protection it has under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972,” the study said.
Some of the other threats to the Wroughton’s free-tailed bat include habitat loss due to changes in land use, including monoculture plantations like pine trees, and excess uncontrolled mining. Relatively small colony size and low fecundity rate may cause local extinction.
“The first distribution record of the species from the village Mikadogre in South Garo Hills makes it the fourth location in the state, after three roost locations in the eastern part of Meghalaya. Considering the wide distribution within Meghalaya, we suspect the species is widespread in the region with potential roosts in other districts mainly lower Assam, and Manipur that have similar habitat and elevation and host multiple large caves,” the study said.
“The new distribution indicates that the Wroughton’s free-tailed bat could be present across other states of NE India which have similar habitats. It’s important to study other areas too since there is very limited information on this species and every piece of information is critical for better understanding of the species,” Rajesh Puttaswamaiah says.
The study calls for further investigation on breeding ecology, diet, distribution range, population trends, and habitat preferences is crucial to come up with conservation strategies/plans for this species. Extensive exploration and monitoring of the populations would help in understanding the population status and possible identification of new localities in northeastern states. The species is considered as Data Deficient because of a lack of population trends and other ecological insights.
From the present study, the total number of individuals of O. wroughtoni from both Pynurkba and Mikadogre stands at around 200–250 individuals. Scientists suggest a detailed survey be conducted to assess the population estimation and distribution of the species across India and the IUCN classification be reassessed.
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