International Bat Appreciation Day 2025: Urgent Need to Protect Nigeria’s 100 Bat Species, says Wild Africa
One-third of Africa’s bat species are found in Nigeria, including some of the world’s most endangered bats.
International Bat Appreciation Day, conservation organisation Wild Africa has called on the Nigerian government, the private sector, and conservation organizations to urgently step up efforts to protect Nigeria’s threatened bat species.
Nigeria is home to approximately 100 bat species, representing one-third of all bats in Africa. However, many of these species are facing extinction.
The IUCN Red List (2025) identifies several Nigerian bats, including the critically endangered short-tailed roundleaf bat, as being at high risk of disappearing.
Bats in Nigeria face multiple threats, including deforestation, mining, logging, agricultural expansion, light pollution, and the bushmeat trade.
Fruit bats, especially the straw-coloured fruit bat—Africa’s most hunted bat—are commonly consumed across Nigeria.
This poses ecological and public health risks, as bats are known carriers of zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted to humans when consumed.
Straw-coloured fruit bat suspended upside down.
“Today, we celebrate the silent guardians of the night, nature’s tiny heroes who keep the ecosystems in balance. We must learn how to coexist with them and give them room to thrive once more, so we can thrive as well. I look forward to the passage of the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill currently before the House of Assembly, which is set to strengthen protections for our wildlife, including bats, and the forests and ecosystems vital to their survival,” said Wild Africa’s West Africa spokesperson, Dr. Mark Ofua.
Bats provide essential ecosystem services: insect-eating species help control pests that damage crops, while fruit bats pollinate and disperse seeds for many wild and cultivated plants like mangoes, bananas, guavas, and baobabs.
Studies show that on cocoa farms in Cameroon, bats and birds save farmers up to $478 per hectare per year by reducing pest populations under shaded canopy conditions.
Wild Africa is using a combination of radio, TV, billboards, newspaper publications, and public service announcements (PSAs) featuring influential Nigerian ambassadors such as 2Baba, Nela Duke Ekpenyong, Josh2Funny, and other influential spokespeople to highlight Nigeria’s conservation needs for both wildlife and wild spaces.
On International Bat Appreciation Day, Wild Africa calls on all Nigerians especially the policymakers at the National House of Assembly, to support the new bill and help secure a future for the country’s bat populations and broader biodiversity.
