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Dent's horseshoe bat - RHINOLOPHUS DENTI

Although one of the smallest species, Dent's horseshoe bat has broad wings which allow very agile flight.
Dent’s horseshoe bat is one of the smallest species, with a total length of 70 millimetres, a forearm length ranging from 41-43 millimetres, and a weight of 6 grams. The fur is soft and long. The upperparts are light in colour, varying from pale grey to pale brown to pale cream. Individual hairs are off-white at their bases. The fur of the underparts is off-white. The wings are light brown, edged with white.This bat occurs throughout the South West Arid Biotic Zone, from the Northern Cape through western Botswana to the Cunene River in northern Namibia. As a result of the hot, dry conditions that prevail in its range, it is dependent on deep caves with stale, cool and humid interiors. It does not appear to migrate either locally of seasonally. During summer and winter, colonies have been observed to benefit from the cool interiors of caves by entering torpor to conserve energy. Because of the drier nature of its habitat it would be revealing to study the manner in which Dent’s horseshoe bat copes with relatively low densities of prey, relative, that is, to sibling species, such as Swinny’s horseshoe bat which occurs in tropical environments.Colonies vary in number from a few individuals to several hundred. The size of colonies seems to correlate approximately with the extent of the roost. Individuals cluster close to each other and, apart from hanging suspended from the ceiling, will also cling to the walls of the cave or from stalactites.Dent’s horseshoe bat feeds on a variety of small, soft-bodied insects. Nothing is known about its reproduction, but it seems reasonable to assume that a single young is born during early summer. (Dr Naas Rautenbach)