Schoolboy joins project tracking bat populations

Marcus says he wants to work in conservation when he is older

A Devon schoolboy fascinated by bats has turned his hobby into science by collecting data on the nocturnal animal.

Marcus, 12, from Tavistock, is helping conservation groups monitor bat populations.

He has been given a detector which picks up the ultrasonic noises that bats use to navigate in the dark.

There are 18 different species of bats in the UK and Devon is home to 16 of those.

'Biodiversity picture'

On the detector, Marcus said: "It detects the frequency of the bat and how high the sound is so you can tell what type of bat is flying around the area."

The Bat Conservation Trust said bat populations in the UK had declined "considerably" in the last century.

Marcus has been encouraged into his hobby by Tavistock Town councillor Ursula Mann, who showed him how to use the bat detector.

Ms Mann said the information collected would be given to Devon Bat Group and the Bat Conservation Trust to build a picture of the region's biodiversity.

She said: "When bat species decline that can show a decline in species of invertebrates.

"That might mean we need to be looking at how we do rewilding in the sense of meadows to get back butterflies and insects, all the things that bats feed on.

"So it’s not just about one species."

Marcus said he has really enjoyed using the bat detector and was considering a career in conservation.