![\"Researcher](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Visit-to-Mt-Suswa-caves_Jackson-Shonko.jpg\")
<\/a>Researcher David Wechuli with a hand net at Mount Suswa caves, Kenya. Image courtesy of Jackson Shonko.\nListening to bats humans cannot hear<\/p>\n
Capturing bats is only one way to study them. The team also places audio-recording devices near cave entrances and along known flight paths before sunset. \u201cEach species produces calls at distinct frequencies. By analyzing the recordings, we can identify which species are active and when they forage,\u201d Wechuli says.<\/p>\n
Guano provides another source of information. \u201cBy analyzing droppings beneath the roosts, we can see what bats are eating, whether fragments of insects, fruit or pollen,\u201d Wechuli says. \u201cThis tells us a lot about their ecological role. Insect-eating bats suppress crop pests and mosquitoes, while fruit- and nectar-feeding species disperse seeds and pollinate plants, helping forests regenerate.\u201d<\/p>\n
In some areas, locals scrape up the nutrient-rich bat droppings that accumulate in dark brown mounds on the cave floor, to use as fertilizer. The pungent, ammonia smell of the guano, as it slowly dries into crumbly pellets, mingles with the damp, earthy aroma of the caves.<\/p>\n
For future studies, Wechuli plan to fit bats with tiny trackers. \u201cWe will attach small GPS loggers to understand where bats travel to forage and whether their movements extend beyond the caves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul Webala, a professor at Maasai Mara University specializing in bat ecology and conservation, says protecting these caves is essential: \u201cAfrica is so diverse \u2026 many areas that would have been suitable for bats no longer exist, so these caves are critical for their survival.\u201d<\/p>\n To reduce these risks, Bat Conservation International and others have helped communities develop guidelines to protect sensitive areas, for instance by limiting visitor numbers. The landscape beyond the caves also needs protection. \u201cBats rely on nearby forests for food. If forests are cleared for farming or charcoal, they lose feeding opportunities,\u201d Wechuli says. Researchers encourage tree planting and habitat restoration around cave systems.<\/p>\n At Mount Suswa Conservancy, there are additional threats. Bats there find shelter in the dozens of lava tube caves in the area, but drilling for geothermal projects and disturbance for other infrastructure development can affect the roosting colonies. \u201cWe monitor how noise and vegetation clearing may impact them. Protecting both caves and surrounding habitats is critical,\u201d Wechuli says.<\/p>\n Salim Rimo, chair of the Tswaka Three Giant Sister Caves Community-Based Organisation, oversees conservation and visitor activities at the caves. \u201cAs a leader, I stay on top of whatever is happening at the site. We have a group of volunteers who visit daily to maintain the place.\u201d<\/p>\n The Three Sisters cave guides lead visitors through the main caves, Mdenynye, Kisimani and Pangani, providing information about what types of bats roost here and their ecological roles; about how other animals such as baboons also find shelter or water in the caves; and about the human history of the caves, which were reputedly used by locals to escape Arab enslavers in the 19th century.<\/p>\n Rimo says working with Bat Conservation International has shaped the community organization\u2019s practices. \u201cWe\u2019ve set rules on how to access the caves, where tourists can go, and how to collect guano safely. At first, some people resisted, but over time they\u2019ve come to understand that protecting the bats supports the ecosystem and even benefits our tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n BCI has also funded tree nurseries to grow seedlings for restoring degraded forests, and installed water tanks that benefit both local farmers and wildlife. Alongside the NGO\u2019s conservation awareness efforts, Rimo says, these initiatives have helped shift local attitudes toward bats.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first, some locals thought bats were evil, but through education and awareness campaigns, attitudes have changed,\u201d he says. Now people understand better how bats support agriculture and the wider functioning of the ecosystem, eating insects and pollinating plants, he adds.<\/p>\n Different species of bats face differing levels of risk if Bat Conservation International\u2019s work doesn\u2019t find a welcome in Kwale county and Suswa.<\/p>\n By some accounts, Rousettus aegyptiacus, a large fruit bat widely found across Africa and beyond, is impressively adaptable \u2014 eating wild or domesticated fruit or flowers or even insects if need be, roosting in caves or open wells, underground parking or trees.<\/p>\n But Webala, the bat professor, says a growing body of research<\/a> shows that other bat species are highly sensitive to human disturbance and may abandon their roosts if caves are disrupted. For example, colonies of the straw-colored fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) have been observed abandoning coastal caves following nearby construction or deforestation activity.<\/p>\n Bat populations can be supported by measures including managing cave access, as in Three Sisters, restoring damaged forests, and maintaining forest corridors that allow them to move safely between roosting and foraging sites.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, research is only part of the work,\u201d Wechuli says. \u201cEqually important is helping communities understand why bats matter. Many people fear bats or see them as pests, yet they play vital roles in ecosystems. Insect-eating bats reduce pests in farms. Fruit bats disperse seeds and help forests regenerate.\u201d<\/p>\n Banner image: The endangered Hildegarde\u2019s tomb bat (Taphozous hildegardeae) in flight near its roost. Image courtesy of Bat Conservation International.<\/p>\n Young Nigerian researcher goes to bat against forest fires<\/a><\/p>\n Citation:<\/p>\n Bungei, M. J., Kibiwot, S., Kimanzi, J. K., & Webala, P. W. (2025). Assessing human disturbance threats in caves on community lands in Kenya. African Journal of Education, Science and Technology, 8(3), 116-122. Retrieved from https:\/\/ajest.org\/index.php\/ajest\/article\/view\/908<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>A Harrison\u2019s giant mastiff bat (Otomops harrisoni) in a cave at Mount Suswa caves, Kenya. Image courtesy of Karel de la Cruz.
\nProtecting caves and the species that depend on them<\/p>\n<\/a>Collecting bat guano inside Three Giant Sister Caves. Image courtesy of Karel de la Cruz.
\nCommunity conservation at the Sister Caves<\/p>\n<\/a>Schoolchildren preparing to plant trees near caves on Mount Suswa, Kenya, as part of conservation awareness and environmental education activities. Image courtesy of Bat Conservation International.
\nChanging how people see bats<\/p>\n