The Bat Conservation Program (PCM) announced the completion of its 8th Mesoamerican Christmas Count, with the aim of monitoring the different species of bats that inhabit the countries of the region, knowing their status, and the threats they face. and thus be able to carry out studies that allow the creation of conservation strategies for these mammals.

In their different social networks, the chapters of Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala published the monitoring activities as an achievement, since due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was believed that this year it could not be carried out in any of countries.

The PCM’s from Mexico to Panama are synchronized to carry out simultaneous counts in the countries, “and monitor populations and species in different points of each country,” said María José Hernández, Guatemalan biologist and researcher, and member of the conservation program.

Due to the pandemic, this year the monitoring was carried out in a wooded area of Guatemala City. “We did not want to make a large call, since there are always many people who sign up to participate,” added Hernández.

This is the eighth year in which it has been carried out, within the framework of the Central American Strategy for the Conservation of Bats.

Environmental education

Photo: PCMG

In addition to the scientific component, these monitoring serve, according to Hernández, to educate the population about the importance that bats have for humanity, the ecosystem services they provide, and the ecological balance of the ecosystems in which they inhabit.

“We try to change that perspective that people have about bats, that they are bad, that they only transmit diseases and that they do not provide any benefit.” He adds that approximately 50% of the diversity of mammals that exists in Guatemala is made up of bats. “They have different habits and there are different groups, such as seed dispersers, insectivores, etc.”