Animals – Freiburg im Breisgau – 700 bats die in the ventilation of the University of Freiburg – Society

Freiburg (dpa) – About 2400 bats have flown into the ventilation system of a building at the University of Freiburg – almost 700 of them died. At the end of July, employees discovered the bats on different floors of the chemistry building complex, as a university spokesman announced on Tuesday. When it became clear that the animals had got into the building through the constant ventilation, the university informed nature conservation authorities and the Freiburg Institute for Applied Animal Ecology. For more than a week, university staff and volunteers tried to rescue the flying animals under the guidance of experts. The “Badische Zeitung” reported on it first.

Because animals had already been discovered on the ventilation system in 2001, it was provided with a bat protective grille. But this was damaged – which is why the police are now investigating.

Although bats often roam in groups in late summer and fall, a cluster of this size is unusual, said a spokesman for the Institute of Applied Animal Ecology. The bats at the university were mostly juveniles that were very curious. In addition, the spokesman assumed that the animals emitted stressful sounds that attracted conspecifics.

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