Not Cats but Bats?

 Lots of people have been asking us why they haven't seen so much of Kay in the last year. She has in fact been spending some time studying for a Masters degree in Conservation Medicine. This is a subject which looks at the link between human disease, animal disease and the impact of environmental change. Many recent emerging infectious diseases such as SARS have originated because of the changing relationships between man and nature, so this is a really important area to study.
This year Kay is undertaking a special project studying Livingstone's fruit bats in a captive breeding colony at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Centre in Jersey. These magnificent bats have a wing span of nearly five feet and are one of the largest bat species in the world. They come from two small islands near to Madagascar and there is a real possibility of extinction in the next two decades because their forest habitat is being cut down at an alarming rate. Breeding in captivity may be the only way of ensuring their survival, so work such as Kay's is vital to conserving these wonderful creatures.