Great to see my PhD research on barbastelle bat flight behaviour over roads featured by the University of Sussex on Research at Sussex! 🦇 📰 Scientific Reports article: lnkd.in/eHBZweAj 🔗 ResearchGate: lnkd.in/eFt_-ijZ

📢 New paper from my PhD! 🦇 Using 3D reconstructions of barbastelle bat flight paths over roads, we found that increasing canopy cover leads to lower flight heights, elevating collision risk. @vincentwt.bsky.social @sussex.ac.uk #PhD #Bats #Ecology #Conservation 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Here is a very cool piebald Ethiopian epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus labiatus) that we caught last month in Lilongwe, Malawi! 🦇 Piebaldism is a rare genetic condition caused by the absence of melonocytes in certain patches of skin and fur. #bats #research #fieldwork #malawi #wildlife

Anyone have any thoughts what the cause of this baldness could be in this Angolan free-tailed bat? Caught just now in Kuti Wildlife Reserve, Malawi! #bats #Malawi #fieldwork #africa #nature #wildlife

Here’s a striking large-eared free-tailed bat (Otomops martiensseni) from Ntchisi Forest Reserve, one of Malawi’s last rainforests 🌳 This was the first record of this species in Malawi for @africanbatcon.bsky.social 🦇🎉 #bats #ntchisi #Malawi #conservation #fieldwork #rainforest

We recently visited the site and spotted the bats ourselves—confirming they’re slit-faced bats (Nycteris sp.). Some great footage captured by Kuti Wildlife Reserve! 🦇🦔 #Wildlife #Bats #CameraTrap #Coexistence #Malawi #Nature

Many years later, I finally got a good slow-mo of a bat release—helped by the fact it was a big slow bat: the Wahlberg’s epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi), caught near the tea plantations of Mount Mulanje🦇⛰️☕️ #bats #Malawi #mulanje #mountmulanje #fieldwork #nature #wildlife #conservation

Whilst we try not to catch birds whilst mist netting for bats, this nightjar was certainly a nice surprise! Caught at Kumbali Game Reserve just outside Lilongwe, Malawi 🇲🇼 🐦‍⬛ #nightjar #birds #bats #nature #fieldwork #lilongwe #malawi #wildlife

Last month, my team at @africanbatcon.bsky.social did some research at Kuti Wildlife Reserve. Whilst there, we were joined by a few guests — free-tailed bat pups! 🦇 The pups had fallen from their roost, but we managed to reunite them with their mothers after some care #Bats #Conservation #Wildlife

Two for one! We knew from radiotracking that there were a few lions in the area, but it was a nice surprise to have them join us while we watched the cheetah. A worthwhile weekend escape with @leastracq.bsky.social to Liwonde National Park! 🦁🐆 #Wildlife #LiwondeNationalPark #Lions #Cheetah #Malawi

Exciting opportunity to join our team at African Bat Conservation! 🦇 We're looking for a Research Assistant to support fieldwork across Malawi. #conservationjobs #bats #wildlifejobs #research

I found this beautiful stray dog last night. I wonder what breed it is? 🤔 #Malawi #Africa #Cute #Scorpion #Nature #Widlife #KutiWildifeReserve

POV: You get distracted by some bats in a tree for just a moment… and a monkey steals your dinner 🐒🌳 #WildlifeEncounters #MonkeyBusiness #VervetMonkey #Monkey #Malawi #KutiWildlifeReserve

Please do join! I'll be on a panel of bat experts later today, discussing all things bats! 🦇 #Bats #Conservation #Wildlife #Ecology

Myself and the @africanbatcon.bsky.social team have escaped the city for some fieldwork at Kuti Wildlife Reserve, helping a student investigate how lighting affects bat behaviour! 🦇🌿 We started the day with a few zebras for company at breakfast! 🦓☕ #Fieldwork #WildlifeConservation #Bats #Malawi

Being shit on by a straw-coloured fruit bat is just another day in the office 💩 🦇 This is normal for everyone, right...? #bats #fieldwork #poop #splat #nature #officelife #malawi #lilongwe #wildlife #poophappens

Bat survey with a local bar is always a nice bonus 🦇 ...and of course, the hundreds of free-tailed bats we had emerging was quite nice too #bats #lilongwe #Malawi #survey #roost #nature

Straw-coloured fruit bats emerging at dusk! 🦇 My team at @africanbatcon.bsky.social and Land & Lake Safaris hosted a bat walk in Lilongwe on Friday, where we were joined by around 80 people. Great to see so much interest in bats! #conservation #bats #nature #lilongwe #malawi #fruitbats #wildlife

It was nice to spend a few weeks away from Malawi and back to the UK for some miserable weather. New Years in the Lake District was particularly wet and windy, but otherwise fun 🌬🌧⛰️ #lakedistrict #outdoors #hiking #nature #lakes #mountains #lakewindermere #coniston #pikeofblisco

Revisited Nkhoma mountain for some bouldering last weekend. Very fortunate to have this amazing spot just a short drive from Lilongwe! 🧗‍♂️⛰️ @leastracq.bsky.social #bouldrering #climbing #mountains #nkhoma #Malawi #outdoors #nature #adventure

One of the few free-tailed bats we caught last night with @africanbatcon.bsky.social 🦇 This one's most likely the white-bellied (Mops niveiventer) or the Angolan (Mops condylurus) free-tailed bat. #Bats #Conservation #Surveys #Lilongwe #Malawi

Come join us at @africanbatcon.bsky.social! 🦇 We're hiring a Research Assistant based in Lilongwe, with time spent across our various field sites. Gain experience in trapping, acoustics, and roost surveys. Perfect for bat lovers! Please share! To apply: www.africanbatconservation.org/vacancies

I've recently joined the team at African Bat Conservation, a non-profit organisation based in Malawi🦇 To stay updated on their latest research and conservation activities, be sure to give them a follow @africanbatcon.bsky.social #bats #research #conservation #wildlife #nature

It was a pleasure to attend, even if I had to borrow clothes since I didn't pack anything smart for Africa!

Cameroon leaf-nosed bat (Doryrhina camerunensis) from Nyungwe National Park - this was the first time this data deficient species had been detected in #Rwanda 🦇

Bat friends - don’t forget to follow the bat feed! 🦇 DM @davehb.bsky.social if you want to be added as a contributor #BatSky bsky.app/profile/did:...

Attending the Mayor of Lilongwe's Ball on behalf of African Bat Conservation definitely wasn’t on my bingo card for this year! 💃🕺 (For context: I was a broke unemployed PhD graduate living in the UK back in January 😂) #Lilongwe #Malawi #CinderellaStory #Ball #Bats #Mayor #Conservation #LifeGoals

Straw-coloured fruit bats often roost in huge colonies, such as this massive one of many thousands outside of a military hospital in Ghana. The roosts are incredible places to visit, a real buzz of activity, especially at dusk 🦇

Spot the bat! 🦇 This straw-coloured fruit bat mother and its pup had fallen from a tree and were struggling to get back to it so they could climb to safety. Fortunately, our team at African Bat Conservation were nearby to give it a helping hand 👐 #Bats #Fruitbats #Lilongwe #Malawi #Baby #Nature

Straw-coloured fruit bats in Lilongwe, Malawi! 🦇 These mammals have the largest mammal migration on Earth! Every year, around 10 million of them gather in Kasanka National Park, Zambia—covering an area the size of just 3 football pitches 🌍 #Wildlife #FruitBats #Bats #Conservation #Lilongwe #Nature

Well, I've never seen this before! 🕷️🦎 I believe this is a wolf spider but I'm happy to be corrected. #spider #wolfspider #dinner #hunting #hunted #nature #wildlife #malawi #predator #prey #reptiles #lilongwe

Visited Thumbi West Island on lake Malawi for sunset, and had a few African fish eagles to keep us company🦅 #fisheagle #eagle #nature #malawi #wildlife #outdoors #lakemalawi #lake #island #capemaclear

There is lots of potential for climbing in Malawi, most of which is still being explored. So it was great to visit Nkhoma mountain on the weekend and tackle a few unclimbed boulders for the first time! 🧗⛰️ #nkhoma #nkhomamountain #bouldering #climbing #outdoors #nature #malawi

One of many elephants I spotted in South Luangwa National Park last week 🐘 #southluangwa #elephant #nationalpark #zambia #nature #wildlife #africa #africawildlife #safari #msandileriverlodge #southluangwanationalpark

They do move in herds! (cue Jurassic Park theme 🎵) #southluangwa #zambia #safari #elephants #giraffes #herds #nature #wildlife #africa #africawildlife #nationalpark

Hopped over the border to Zambia for the weekend to visit South Luangwa National Park. There was definitely no shortage of leopard sightings! 🐆 #southluangwa #zambia #leopard #wildlife #nature #bigcats #safari #predator #africawildlife #nationalpark #southluangwanationalpark

So Huw Edwards gets a suspended sentence for buying and making pornographic images of children, while peaceful environmental defenders seeking to prevent social catastrophe get 3, 4 and 5 years. Some justice, this.

Love it if you could repost this! Maybe we can change some minds about perceptions people have of bats? Let's try! 🦇

Ethiopian epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus labiatus) caught in my garden last night in Lilongwe, Malawi 🦇 #bats #fruitbats #lilongwe #survey #batsurvey #wildlife #conservation #malawi #africa

Here’s a modest attempt at improving my R plot, courtesy of ChatGPT (apparently showing prey selection). It's got artistic flair, but I'm not sure the reviewers would approve! 😂🎨 #rstats #stats #plot #research #data #lions #leopards #verydemure #datascience #plotting #chatgpt

Interesting study highlighting the importance of bats in pest control! Loss of colonies to the fungal disease white-nose syndrome led to increased pesticide use by farmers, in turn raising infant mortality rates by 8%! 🦇 #bats #biodiversity #conservation #wildlife #pesticide #disease