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Wildlife
- Close
- - We protect wildlife in Britain and around the world by bringing our most threatened species back from the brink of extinction. We do this through ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Wild places
- Close
- - Some habitats contain such a richness of life that we need to protect them at all odds. We are working to preserve ancient woodlands, orchards and wood pastures and parklands, as well as the countless species they support.
What we do
- Close
- - Everything we do is based on scientific evidence. We gather this through surveys, which you can take part in, and by awarding research grants to the most inspiring scientists worldwide. This evidence guides our conservation efforts and is shared through our events and publications.
Who we are
- Close
- - People’s Trust for Endangered Species was set up in 1977 to save our wildlife. We are governed by a board of volunteer trustees and our team of staff are passionate about protecting endangered species and places.
Success stories
- Close
- - We strive to bring our most threatened species in the UK and around the world back from the brink of extinction. Our successes come from ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Get involved
- Close
- - There are so many ways you can help save endangered species. Fancy taking part in a survey, joining us on a wildlife event or becoming a regular supporter?
Shop
- Close
- - Support our work in our shop with a range of charity gifts, home-ware, cards and more. 100% of the profits go directly to help wildlife both in the UK an overseas.
Donate
- Close
- - There is nothing natural about the alarming rate at which we are losing animals and their homes. It is absolutely avoidable. We can stop the loss of our wildlife – but we need your support. You can act now by choosing to give to our cause. Thank you.

Home // Research grants // Our UK mammal projects // Bats across the UK

Bats across the UK

Finding new ways to track bats and protect them for the future

This project has now finished

The problem

Bats make up nearly a quarter of our mammal species here in the UK but many are rare and under threat

In order to save our bats we need to accurately find out where they are and how many there are. This is easier said than done with a fast flying nocturnal animal.

Our understanding of our 18 types of bat has been hampered by the difficulty in distinguishing between them and the time consuming process of analysing recordings of bat calls. This information is essential to help us work out how best to protect and conserve them.

New technology allows us to collect and analyse large amounts of bat records however it is still too costly to be used at a large enough scale to build a national picture.

The solution

In 2013 we funded a project working with a number of organisations and members of the public in Norfolk to monitor bats on a huge but cost effective scale. This trial resulted in over 300,000 high quality bat records, including several scare or localised species. This compares with about 1,000 bat records which are normally submitted to the local records centre for the county each year.

Following on from this successful trial we need to roll out this type of approach all over the UK in order to take action to protect our precious bats where it is needed most.

We are working with BTO, Norfolk Barbastelle Study Group and Norfolk Myotis Study Group to critically evaluate the trial and its findings, to fine tune our methods for studying bats nationwide.

Latest news

Read a recent press article about our project