Kıb-Tek called on to prevent bats being electrocuted

THE Cyprus Turkish Electricity Authority (Kıb-Tek) should take action to prevent bats from being electrocuted to death.

The call was made by the Society for the Protection of Birds and Nature (Kuşkor) after four Egyptian fruit bats were found dead in the Bellapais area.

The Egyptian fruit bat, whose European presence is limited to Turkey’s Mediterranean scrub forests and Cyprus, is known as the largest bat in Europe.

It is stated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature that the Mediterranean presence of the creature is under threat.

Kuşkor member Olkan Ergüler said that an investigation by the organisation established that power lines were the cause of death of the four fruit bats.

The dead bats had “broken wings and burns” and power lines were placed between trees above the site where bats were found, he said.

Mr Ergüler, who said that “expert consultation” helped Kuşkor to reach their conclusion, shared the following information: “The wingspan of the Egyptian fruit bat can reach 48-65 cm in size. Since Egyptian fruit bats do not have a sonar system to help them find their way through sound waves, unlike other bats, they use their senses of sight and sound like humans.

“The bats in the Bellapais area probably died after getting caught in the electric current, as both of their wings touched the cables at the same time when landing on the power lines because of the proximity of the lines.

“Four bats were found in the same area, a family was completely destroyed.”

In 2013, power lines in Lefke caused the death of a Bonelli’s eagle by electrocution and then the death of a Forestry Department worker in the subsequent fire outbreak, Mr Ergüler recalled.

In the Apostolos Andreas area of the Karpaz peninsula, a long-legged buzzard died after being electrocuted.

Mr Ergüler called on KıbTek to take precautions such as widening the gap between cables to prevent the deaths of wild animals and fire outbreaks.