Ears, again

Sad to find this tiny creature lifeless on the kitchen floor. It's a brown long-eared bat, an unusual prey for a cat but one of ours is something of an aerialist, capable of snatching it as it swooped to  pick an insect off foliage or even the ground, as these bats do. They hunt by sight and sound rather than by echolocation like other bats.

There are 18 species of bat in Britain and this is the second most common, nesting mainly in the roof spaces of old buildings (of which we have a few.) Their diet consists entirely of insects. You can read a full run-down of their life and habits here.

Cats rarely catch bats and don't eat them when they do, Although it's sickening to think of them killed like this, let's not forget that while cats are reviled by many as destroyers of wildlife, the toll they take is minimal compared to the damage done by our own species in destroying habitat, and polluting land, sea and air. Not only is the bats' insect diet in sharp decline but their roosting sites are disappearing as old buildings are removed, re-purposed or sprayed with wood preservatives.

More bat pics in extras.

Whether the  splendid ears of the bat were a teasing comment on  the now aurally-challenged Fred I do not know but he is very much back to his normal self,  indeed arrived  home noisily this , the following morning, with a half a rabbit in his mouth,