Bats / Chiroptera / Ialtóg
Not just for Halloween! There are eight species of bats found in Northern Ireland and all of them have been recorded in Castlewellan Forest Park.
Bats are mammals, which means they are warm blooded, have fur and carry live young that suckle milk from their mother. However, unlike other mammals they have the power of true flight. Their wings are actually hands with skin stretched between elongated fingers. All the bats found in Ireland are insectivores, they eat only insects. As bats are nocturnal they use echolocation to find their way around at night. They also hibernate during the winter and become active again in the Spring where they feed on emerging insects. Around early summer the pregant females bring up their young in maternity roosts.
Castlewellan is a great habitat for bats as they roost in both the old buildings and trees found around the park. The lake and other waterbodies in the Park also provide an excellent source of insects for them to feed on. Not all eight species roost at Castlewellan, some just come and enjoy the buffet that the lake provides, or use the site as a communiting route.
