Bat Week on Intaka Island: meet the night shift
Bat Week on Intaka Island: meet the night shift
As the sun sets over Intaka Island and the birds settle into the reeds, a second shift begins. Small dark shapes slip out of roofs, tree bark and crevices and start sweeping low over the water, catching insects on the wing. Most visitors never see them, but bats are some of the island’s busiest residents.
International Bat Week runs from 24 to 31 October each year, and it is a good moment to get to know the bats that share our wetland. This time, rather than covering bats in general, we are introducing the eight species that researchers have recorded on Intaka Island itself.
Meet Intaka's eight bats
Our new species list includes eight bat species, recorded during a 2017 bat survey on the island and a 2024 study of bat diversity across Cape Town. Seven of them hunt insects. One eats fruit.
Bat | Scientific name | What it eats |
Egyptian Fruit Bat | Rousettus aegyptiacus | Fruit |
Egyptian Free-tailed Bat | Tadarida aegyptiaca | Insects |
Long-fingered Bat | Miniopterus natalensis | Insects |
Temminck’s Hairy Bat | Myotis tricolor | Insects |
Long-tailed Serotine | Eptesicus hottentotus | Insects |
Cape Serotine | Neoromicia capensis | Insects |
Geoffroy’s Horseshoe Bat | Rhinolophus clivosus | Insects |
Cape Horseshoe Bat | Rhinolophus capensis | Insects |
A closer look at a few of our bats
The fruit bat that clicks its tongue
The Egyptian Fruit Bat is the only fruit eater on our list. Most bats find their way in the dark by calling through their mouths or noses. This one does it differently: it clicks its tongue and listens for the echoes (PMC). It feeds on soft fruit like figs and loquats, and often carries fruit away from the tree to eat it elsewhere, spreading seeds as it goes (Wikipedia).
A local found nowhere else
The Cape Horseshoe Bat is endemic to South Africa. It takes its name from the horseshoe-shaped flap of skin around its nose. It roosts in coastal caves, often sharing them with Geoffroy’s Horseshoe Bat and long-fingered bats, two more species on our list. It hunts from among the vegetation, picking off beetles and moths (Wikipedia).
The neighbours in your roof
The Cape Serotine is small, weighing between 4 and 10 grams. It roosts in small groups under tree bark, in cracks in walls and under the eaves of houses, and readily moves into bat houses. It feeds on beetles, moths, mosquitoes and other flying insects (Wikipedia). There is a good chance some of Century City’s Cape Serotines are living closer to home than you think.
The long-distance flier
The Egyptian Free-tailed Bat gets its name from its short tail, which pokes out past the skin between its legs. It is a fast flier that can cover long distances over open ground at night, catching beetles, moths and other insects in flight (Wikipedia).
How you can help our bats
- Give them a home: Cape Serotines readily move into bat houses, so a well-placed bat box in your garden can give them a safe place to roost.
- Go easy on insecticides: most of our bats live on insects, and every can of spray takes food off their menu.
- Leave roosts in peace: if bats are living in your roof or under your eaves, they are doing you a favour by eating insects. Get advice before trying to move them.
- Don’t touch a grounded bat: if you find one on the ground, don’t pick it up with bare hands. Contact a wildlife rehabilitation organisation for advice.
So this Bat Week, spare a thought for the small night fliers working the skies above Intaka Island, and come and listen to them for yourself on 30 October.
Sources
- Intaka Island Fauna Species List 2026, based on: Stephanie Dippenaar, Bat Species: Intaka Island (June 2017); Luke Foster, Assessing Bat Species Diversity and Habitat Utilization in Cape Town (2024)
- PMC: Tongue-driven sonar beam steering by a lingual-echolocating fruit bat
- Wikipedia: Egyptian fruit bat, Cape horseshoe bat, Cape serotine, Egyptian free-tailed bat
- WEST: Celebrating Bat Week (dates: 24 to 31 October)
- Quicket: Bat Night Hike on Intaka Island, 30 October 2026 (hike details)
Shanely Alexander
