Parques de Sintra

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Lesser horseshoe bat

(Rhinolophus hipposiderus)

General Characteristics
This is the smallest lesser horseshoe bat in Europe with a length of between 37 and 45 millimetres, excluding the tail.
Brownish-grey dorsal with a greyish-white ventral. Ears and wing membranes in light greyish-brown tones.

Diet
Flying insects such as small mariposas, midges and mosquitoes as well as beetles and spiders. The bat hunts its prey when settled on stones and bushes but also seizing its prey while in flight.

Habitat
Lives in warm regions with high humidity levels, preferring forested areas with limestone substrata, where there is a great availability of shelter. Reproduces in caves and mines as well as in buildings.

Reproduction
Mating takes place in autumn, with the females storing the sperm through to ovulation and fertilisation in the following spring. In April, the females move to shelters for raising their offspring and shared with between 50 and 100 adults, other females in the majority. The offspring – one per nest as a rule – are born in June.

State of conservation
Global – Of low concern.
National – Vulnerable.
Sintra – rare and in danger of extinction.

Threat
Destruction and disturbance of their shelters caused by building renovation work.
Direct attack out of superstition.

Conservation measures
Technical support for the restoration of buildings hosting colonies;
Maintaining low levels of building in the hills;
Awareness and environmental education campaigns.

NATURAL VALUES
The Sintra hills hosts a favourable ecosystem consisting of highly important natural values for conservation. The lesser horseshoe bat represents one such value and portrayed on the Totem in the Farmyard of Monserrate.