German researchers used a mini transmitter to track a bat’s migration route from where it spent the summer near Berlin to its winter home in Italy, the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Nature Research reported on Tuesday.
The bat, a small noctule, also called the Irish bat, flew via Munich, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Lake Comer, Milan and Parma in five days.
Using the transmitter updates previous data based on finding ringed specimens. While the bats were previously generally only found at their destinations in France and Italy, the transmitter enabled tracking via nighttime signals picked up by cell phone towers.
The transmitter had to be small, as the bats weigh between 12 and 22 grams.
According to the research team, the lesser noctule is affected by intensive forestry practices and by wind turbines built along their migration routes.
“We need more precise knowledge about the migration routes of the little noctule to protect this species,” said researcher Uwe Hoffmeister.
