[Village]
[Woman entering bat rehabilitation center]
[Sign reading (English): “Bat Rehabilitation Ireland”]
Susan Kerwin (interview): “It was during the pandemic, the COVID pandemic, that I really pushed and started it as a charity and pushed for loads of publicity on it. Just because of the COVID pandemic, bats were being villainised and they were made out to be the cause of this pandemic. I was getting calls every day from members of the public that were absolutely terrified. They didn’t want bats roosting close to their house, there was people that were threatening to use expanding foam and block them in there, threatening to kill the bats, burn them out of different buildings that they were in, and it was just horrific to me.”
[Soprano pipistrelle bat being held in gloved hands]
Susan Kerwin (interview): “This little Soprano pipistrelle was found almost completely bald, and it’s not really typical of why juveniles would come into care. So we don’t know was it because it was a particularly hot summer and the roost was under a galvanized steel roof? Or was it something that was genetically or nutritionally happening there?”
[Bat in gloved hands]
Susan Kerwin (interview): “This little one was found again grounded, had a very heavy ectoparasite burden that we needed to clear up and she was underweight but gladly she’s doing great, so we’re going to get a ring on her today and then she’s going to be heading back to the wild.”[Bat ambulance van driving up road]
[Kerwin driving bat rescue vehicle while talking about the improvement the car has made for her work]
[Bat ambulance van turning into driveway]
Susan Kerwin (interview): “When bats arrive into care, they are host to a number of different ectoparasites. We collect samples of these and we send them to university here in Ireland. They’re then tested to see the micro-organisms that they are carrying and also pathogens that they are carrying. This then gives us an overall idea or picture of the health of our own bats here in the wild in Ireland.”
[Ectoparasites (skin surface parasites) in test tube]
[Screen showing ectoparasites under a microscope]
[Kerwin and Conor Kelleher walking towards the camera]
Conor Kelleher (interview): “Bats are under a lot of pressure internationally and especially island populations where they’re isolated. So we’re losing bats every year. The more bats we discover through genetics and that we’re actually losing populations of them as well, so it’s very, very important that we look after these and be aware of their needs and make sure they’re kept for the future.”
[Kelleher at desk making aluminium rings]
[Kelleher spreading a bat’s wing with aluminium ring visible]
[Kelleher at his workbench]
[Kelleher measuring a bat]
[Bat’s head poking out of Kelleher’s hands]
[Kerwin feeding bat with mealworm]
[Thumb stroking bat]
Susan Kerwin (interview): “We’re seeing more wind turbines that are being introduced. We’re seeing wetlands that are being destroyed. We have a lot of trees that are planted that aren’t suitable to our environment that don’t host the same amount of insects. So we need to be very aware of what we’re going into and how this will impact bats.”
[Village]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.