Northumberland Zoo welcomes critically endangered 'megabat' species as part of breeding programme

A zoo is set to become the third in the world to welcome an exotic and critically endanged species of "megabat".

Livingstone's Fruit Bats, also known as the Comoro flying fox, have a wingspan of up to 1.4 metres and are the third largest bat species in the world.

The endangered winged mammals have arrived at Northumberland Zoo as part of a captive breeding programme to help boost numbers worldwide.

Only 98 of the bats exist in captivity in the world, split between Northumberland, Jersey and a separate zoo in France.

The zoo will be working with Jersey Zoo increase the captive population and create a 'back-up group' in case they go extinct in the wild.

The bats originate from the Republic of Comoros, formed of two small islands northwest of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The most recent survey found there were around 1,200 wild bats across 25 different roost sites.

The species is at risk of imminent extinction due to deforestation and risk of severe tropical storms.

Maxine Bradley, curator at Northumberland Zoo, said: "It is an incredible responsibility and a massive achievement for us to join this breeding programme, holding almost 15% of the total captive population of these amazing bats.”

“My goal is to change visitor perceptions with regards to bats. These bats have adorable fox-like furry faces, with big Mickey Mouse ears and huge eyes - I want people to fall in love with them and gain a new favourite animal when they visit.”

Visitors to the zoo will be able to see the animals from 27 December as part of its new exhibition.

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