Latin America, including the Caribbean, is home to over 30
percent of the world’s more than 1,250 species of bats.
Unfortunately, many of the region’s bat species are listed by
the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as
Vulnerable, Threatened or Endangered. Bat Conservation
International has more than 20 years of experience working
collaboratively to combat the many threats facing bats in Latin
America. Yet habitat destruction, roost disturbance, and
reckless eradication efforts by misinformed decision-makers
continue to place Latin American bats in extreme peril despite
the invaluable ecosystem services they provide. Bats eat
enormous amounts of harmful insects, reducing crop damage and
limiting pesticide use. By dispersing seeds, bats play a key
role in rainforest recovery after slash-and-burn destruction.
And they are nighttime pollinators with symbiotic relationships
with hundreds of native plants that would otherwise fail to
reproduce. BCI works through diverse partnerships and coll