Chhattisgarh: Rare ‘orange bat’ spotted in Bastar’s Kanger Valley National Park

In India, it has already been spotted in the Western Ghats, Kerala, Maharashtra and Odisha, and now Chhattisgarh

A rare orange-coloured bat, also known as ‘painted bat’ and characterised by bright orange and black wings, was on Monday spotted at a banana plantation in Parali Bodal village of Chhattisgarh’s Kanger Valley National Park in Bastar, officials said on Wednesday.

The orange-coloured bat spotted in Chhattisgarh earlier this week. (Photo by Shakeel Rizvi)

Shakeel Rizvi, a local resident who spotted the bat, claimed that the animal came to his farm in the morning.

“There were three bats and it is a very rare sight. I clicked photographs and sent them to the forest officials,” said Rizvi.

Kanger Nation Park director Dhammshil Ganvir said the locals spotted the bat species very recently. Its scientific name is ‘Kerivoula picta’.

“It is generally found in Bangladesh, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. In India, it has already been spotted in the Western Ghats, Kerala, Maharashtra and Odisha, and now Chhattisgarh,” Ganvir said.

He added that the bat species has black wings and orange wings and fingers.

Often found in unusual roosting sites such as suspended nests of weaver finches and sunbirds, banana leaves, these bats have been known to roost in pairs. It is an aerial hawker, catching insects mid-flight, he added.

“A proper survey is being done to study this species and understand the suitable habitat required for its conservation. Local communities are involved in the conservation of such species,” the officer said.

The national park is famous for its limestone caves, which also provide a suitable habitat for the bats, experts say.

There are about 131 species of bats in the country, of which 31 are found in central India.