Greater horseshoe bat captured for first time in Jersey

A rare bat has been captured in Jersey for the first time since it was audibly recorded in the 1950s.

A rhinolophus ferrumequinum, better known as the greater horseshoe bat because of its horseshoe shaped nose, was captured at about 23:30 BST on Monday in St Peter’s Valley by the Jersey Bat Group (JBG) and Sangan Island Conservation.

The bat is one of the largest species in the UK, the size of a small pear, and is usually spotted in the south west of England and Wales, the Bat Conservation Trust said.

JBG’s Miranda Collett said “despite years of effort” since it was audibly recorded seven decades ago this was the first capture of the species “known to be particularly difficult bats to catch”.