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| bats
and cats |
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Our
UK bats have only a few predators including:
cats; owls; hobbies & kestrels (birds of
prey); magpies, crows (raptors) and, Man. |
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There
are very strict UK laws aimed to ensure the
safety of bats in the wild and at our homes.
Bats use cellars, attics, the roof gutter, tops
of downpipes and eaves... plus more. |
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Dawn
and dusk |
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Bats
are at risk during dawn and dusk, as twilight
provides adequate light for diurnal predators;
such as magpies. However, owls and cats hunt
in complete darkness, at any time of the night. |
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So,
what makes cats the no.1 pradator? |
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It's
no accident that cats have the No.1 spot on
this list (a statistic held by the Bat Conservation
Trust) and that this page is entitled bats and
'cats'. |
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cats
are very patient and skilled predators; |
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their
vision is superior at night in comparison
to humans; |
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they
can jump up to 6 or 7 times their own
height; |
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they
can hear high-pitched sounds of up to
64 kHz, (1.6 octaves above human range
and one octave above the range of a dog).
Cats are potentially capable of hearing
16 of our 17 UK bat species; |
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their
sense of smell is about fourteen times
as strong as a human's. They have twice
as many smell-sensitive cells in their
noses as people do, which means they can
smell things we are not even aware of. |
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photo:
John Kelly - Royalty Free |
Tips
to help keep your garden a bat casualty free
zone |
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whenever
possible, keep your cat inside during
the twilight hours of dawn and sunset,
from March to September |
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If
your cat has captured a bat or you see
signs that it has attacked a bat, there
may very well be a bat roost in your garden,
or nearby. If this is the case, he will
probably want to keep going back. It's
essential to keep 'Felix' indoors. |
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Please
call us on 020 8376 8088,
if you suspect you have bats in your garden
or around your home. Also, please call
this number if you find a grounded, sick
or injured bat. |
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Sources: |
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| Wikipedia
Encyclopaedia |
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bats
and cats |
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As
a voluntary organisation we |
exist
entirely on donations |
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