India is home to 117 species of bats, of which only two species are included in the Wildlife Protection Act (1972). Bats in India are subjected to great pressures: they are hunted and eaten for their supposed medicinal properties, their roosting sites are marauded and burnt because of superstitious beliefs, and their habitats are destroyed to accommodate the ever-growing human population and other development activities.
The Endangered Kolar leaf-nosed bat Hipposideros hypophyllus is endemic to Kolar district, Karnataka, and is known from only two localities: Hanumanhalli and Therahalli. Since its description in 1994 this species had not been sighted and its conservation status was unknown. With the help of funding from The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund we conducted two surveys (during November–December 2013 and April–May 2014), to locate roosts and to conduct nocturnal acoustic monitoring, in both localities. We located a subterranean cave, the type locality of the species, on a granite hill in Hanumanhalli village, and were successful in mist-netting the species there. We estimate that this population may number no more than 200 individuals. We found the species sharing its roost with five other species of bats. In Therahalli, although we located a subterranean cave and other potential roost sites, we were not successful in finding the species. The cave at Hanumanhalli is threatened by illegal granite-mining activities in the immediate vicinity. Two other roost sites that we found on the same hill had been abandoned by bats.
Based on our findings, we recommend that the Red List category of the Kolar leaf-nosed bat is changed from Endangered to Critically Endangered. As there is only one known roost site, urgent steps need to be taken to halt nearby mining and quarrying activities. Failing this, the species will inevitably become extinct in the near future. Following a discussion with the Divisional Forest Officer of Kolar district, stone quarrying activity in the vicinity of the subterranean cave at Hanumanhalli has been halted, and the matter is now under further discussion with the appropriate authorities.
