But the elderly bat could finally find a mate if only he returns to his old haunts – a female greater mouse-eared bat of breeding age has this month been discovered hibernating within the South Downs national park.
Hope for Britain’s loneliest bat after second species member discovered Greater mouse-eared bat was declared extinct in the UK but ecologists now believe population recovery is possible.
A second greater mouse-eared bat – the largest British bat species, the size of a small rabbit, with a wingspan stretching in flight to nearly half a metre – has also been found at Dover Castle.
The male greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) was the only known individual of his kind in the country after he was discovered in 2002 – a decade after the rare species was officially declared extinct.
“The finding of a female is rewarding and a remarkable discovery, which brings huge hope for this species,” said Daniel Whitby, an ecologist and founder of the Bat Conservation and Research Unit.
