Bat Conservation International
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| Founded | October 2, 1982 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Merlin D. Tuttle |
| Type | Charitable trust |
| Focus | Environmentalism, Conservation |
| Location | |
| Origins | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Executive Director: Mike Daulton |
| Website | batcon.org |
 Adventures With a Bat Biologist, 12:29, To the Best of Our Knowledge
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Bat Conservation International (BCI) is an international non-governmental organization working to conserve the world’s bats and their habitats through conservation, education and research efforts.
BCI was founded in 1982 by prominent bat biologist Dr. Merlin Tuttle. Since its establishment, BCI has formed lasting partnerships with the US Fish & Wildlife Service and many national and international agencies and nonprofits, and has produced publications, workshops, scholarships and research, and site-specific projects across the nation and around the world. Currently, BCI employs a staff of 30 biologists, educators, and administrators and is supported by members in 60 countries.
BCI operates by its "ten critical conservation strategies." These strategies consist of:
1) Accelerating scientific research
2) Preventing extinction
3) Protecting intact areas with highly-diverse bat communities
4) Preserving mega-populations of bats
5) Creating global and regional partnerships
6) Addressing threats impacting multiple species at multiple sites
7) Promoting community-based bat conservation
8) Creating and enforcing legal and policy frameworks
9) Developing and perfecting important technology
10) Investing in future conservation leadership
BCI funds and participates in research to mitigate damage to bat populations. Some of the threats previously or currently addressed include:
Many bat species are colonial, and form colonies that can consist of millions of individuals. Because some bat species are highly aggregated, entire species can be threatened by disturbance to a small number of roosts. BCI seeks to protect these roosts of high aggregations, or "mega-populations." Some ways that BCI works to protect mega-populations are:
In their 2014-2018 Strategic Plan, BCI identified 35 critically endangered or endangered species of bat as priority species for conservation. These 35 species will receive a concentrated focus of research and conservation efforts to hopefully prevent their extinction. BCI is also a member of the Alliance for Zero Extinction, which seeks to safeguard the last habitats of critically endangered species.
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Wikipedia