Egyptian slit faced bat

Introduction: The Egyptian slit-faced bat is one of the most common bats in southern Africa and the most widely found of the slit-faced bats. They can occur from a few individuals up to colonies of some 600 and are one of the 6 species that can be found in Arnhem Cave Restcamp. As with Schreibers's long-fingered bat they inhabit deep, dark caves and hollow trees as a daytime destination. They are known to use regular night roosts for grooming and resting between feeding forays. After dark they hunt and feed 'on the wing'.

Distribution: All over Namibia but seldom found in forested areas. It is usually found in open woodland savannah and in the Kalahari and Namib Deserts.

Diet: The Egyptian slit-faced bat hunts favourite insects and spiders, swooping from their perches once their flight path has been cleared by air-traffic control.

Colouring: Buffy-brown silky fur with slate-grey bases and buffy or off-white underparts.

Size: Average body length 100mm.

Weight: 10-11g.