There are a lot of chilled out bats hanging around at the moment in the Frankfurt Ostquell Brewery: Bat conservationists are taking advantage of the cold season of the year to record the winter numbers of greater mouse-eared bats and their friends.
Winter's here! And the bats sleep...
© Dietmar NillIn the vaults of the former Ostquell Brewery in Frankfurt an der Oder, owned by EuroNatur, there are 1534 bats spending the winter there. The commonest guest in the “bat hotel” is once again the greater mouse-eared with 718 individuals, followed by the Natterer’s bat also with a fine total of 515.
These insect-eating mammals have been using the frost-free and undisturbed cellar vaults as a hibernation site for many years. The building is, however, currently in a poor state of repair. Since there was a risk that the bats might be lose their hibernation site, measures to renovate the building began in 2018. In conjunction with the Middle Oder Landscape Preservation Association, EuroNatur will be continuing the structural repair of this valuable bat hibernation site this year as soon as the bats have left their winter quarters.