The five day - Introduction to bat biology, ecology, conservation and identification course was held at the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (31 March - 4 April 2016). Eight students attended from seven institutions (National Vetenary Research Institute of Nigeria, University of Pretoria, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Zimbabwe, AfricanBats NPC, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History), representing three countries (Nigeria (1), South Africa (6) and Zimbabwe (1)).
The mornings comprised mainly lectures that spanned different topics, providing the foundational information on bats. Afternoon sessions were practical hands-on exercises – where student worked with dry and wet study material to learn and compare characteristics for identification.
For three evenings, capture practicals were undertaken on the University of Pretoria Experimental Farm, University of Pretoria. Students could assist with setting up of mist-nets and observe the capture and removal of bats. While the fourth evening was a practical opportunity for the students to work and observe bats using various bat detectors.
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