Thumb-Size 'Olympic Bat' That Flew Record-Breaking 1,254 Miles Dies From Injuries Inflicted by a Cat

A couple of days ago, The Bat Conservation reported that scientists had nicknamed a tiny thumb-size bat as "Olympic bat" after it beat all recognized British records and flew more than 2,000 kilometers across Europe. It was one of the best-identified bat flights.

Unfortunately, today, the Olympic bat was reported dead, and according to a Live Science report, it was killed by a house cat in Russia.

Specifically, this report specified that the Nathusius' pipistrelle or Pipistrellus nathusii, weighing just below eight grams, was injured in a western Russian village.

The thumb-size bat was brought to a local bat sanctuary, though later, it died from its injuries, which, according to the BCT in the United Kingdom, were most possibly inflicted by a cat.

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Nathusius' pipistrelle

The ring found on the bat's arm, which a similar to what California News Times said belonged to the London Zoo, revealed that it had previously been captured in 2016 by a volunteer bat recorder near London's Heathrow Airport, as indicated in the statement.

Since then, it has been reported to have flown farther compared to any other bat from the United Kingdom. BCT's head of conservation services, Lisa Worledge, said in the statement, the bat's flight "is a remarkable journey" and the longest one identified of "any bat from Britain" throughout Europe.

The migration is the second-largest in the record as well, for a bat. Another Nathusius' pipistrelle is the record-holder that journeyed more than 1,381 miles or 2,223 kilometers in 2019 from Latvia to Spain.

The Nathusius' pipistrelles' movements all over the UK, and between it and the continent stay generally puzzling, added Worledge. This journey, she also said, is an exciting scientific discovery and another piece in bat migration's puzzle.

The Thumb-Size Bat's Discovery

Resident Svetlana Lapina found the thumb-size bat in her small Russian village of Molgino in the Pskov region. Unfortunately, this small find fell victim to a cat.

As mentioned, she was found on the ground with injuries and saved by a Russian bat rehabilitation group but died later. This discovery of the Olympic bat was reported to the BTC, the organization operating the National Nathusius' Pipistrelle Project.

Bat experts in Russia and the UK have worked together to further understand this remarkable journey of bats for vital reasons.

Essentially, the Nathusius' pipistrelle's range expansion is associated with climate change, with the future climate change forecasted to further affect this species.

Climate Change Affecting Bats

More information is vital to completely understand such impacts. Hotspots have been identified in Britain, together with help from licensed bat researchers, citizen scientists, and bat groups ringing and collecting droppings, as well as samples of fur.

In addition, scientists' detective work investigation through the use of mass spectrometry to examine isotopes is yet another helpful mechanism to unravel details about enormous migration voyages bats take between northeast Europe and Britain.

To date, there have been over 2,600 Nathusius' pipistrelles recorded in the UK since the 2014 launch of the National Nathusius' Pipistrelles Project. The project was launched for further insight into bats' breeding, distribution, and migration in terms of behavior.

Related information about the smallest bat is shown on AnimalBytesTV's YouTube video below: