By observing bats in the "Biserna" cave, students from Shumen celebrated International Bat Day - October 4.
The event was organized by the Directorate of the Shumen Plateau Nature Park and was attended by children from the Green Patrols at the Panayot Volov Secondary School. In front of over 20 students, experts from the Directorate and the Northeastern State Enterprise presented flying mammals, their way of life and the benefits for humans in pest control. The children learned what the threats to thethe breeding of bats and why people consider them dangerous. The "Green Patrols" were introduced to the ways of protecting these protected species and what everyone can do to preserve them. An educational film was shown that introduces the bats that inhabit the Shumen Plateau and they took on the role of flying mammals with the game "Bats and Butterflies". The children followed the walking route to the "Biserna" cave, where they observed the bats in their habitat.
There are 14 species of bats in the Biserna Cave and the tourist visit is tailored to their rhythm of life. The cave opens in April and May, when the bats wake up from hibernation. During the summer months, access is prohibited as the cave dwellers raise their young. Visitors are then accepted from mid-August to October. During the winter months, bat colonies form for wintering and then the bats are most vulnerable, which is why the Biserna Cave is closed to tourists again.
There are 33 species of bats in Bulgaria out of a possible 35 in Europe, and all of them are insectivorous.