Jersey Zoo plans to replicate bat roost overseas to help species bounce back

• Report by ITV Channel's Sophie Dulson

The team at Jersey Zoo have plans to recreate their bat roost overseas to help boost the numbers of endangered and rare bats across the world.

They want to replicate their 40-metre long roost, which is currently home to the Livingstone's fruit bat and Rodrigues fruit bat, in Sumatra, as part of the Orangutan Haven run by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme. 

Durrell's captive breeding programme has been successful in developing the number of Livingstone's fruit bats which are critically endangered in the wild.

There are now 60 of them living at the zoo.

Of the approximately 1,100 species of bat that live worldwide, the Livingstone’s fruit bat is one of the largest and faces the greatest risk of extinction.

In the islands of the Comoros where the Livingstone's fruit bat lives, precious little forest remains and the islands are home to a rapidly expanding human population. This has meant vast areas of their natural habitat has been destroyed to make way for agricultural land.

Experts say if areas that the bats depend on for their survival are not protected then "this amazing species faces the risk of extinction in the near future".

The first Livingstone's fruit bats arrived at Jersey Zoo in 1992 and have since thrived in captivity.

They form a safety net population should the species go extinct in the wild, and although there are no current plans to return them to their native habitat just yet, it is not impossible, and an option Durrell have if things get even worse for the species in the wild.

Durrell wildlife hopes that by replicating their successful roost overseas, they can help to save and restore other keystone species, that would otherwise face extinction in the wild.