Efforts are underway to change public perception of bats as conservationists joined the global community in celebrating International Bat Appreciation Day (IBAD), highlighting their ecological importance and addressing the threats they face.​
   
With over 1,480 species, bats exist on every continent except Antarctica. Bats are an ecologically and taxonomically diverse group accounting for roughly a fifth of mammalian diversity worldwide.  
   
Nigeria is home to approximately 100 bat species, representing one-third of Africa’s bat population. However, many of these species are endangered due to negative superstitions, habitat loss, hunting, and other human activities.
 
Each year, April 17th is observed as IBAD. The observance highlights the role bats play in nature. Since bats are considered “insectivorous” creatures, they rid the world of many annoying insects. In one hour, a bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes.
 
Bats also contribute immensely to the health and wellness of planet Earth: they eat insect pests that destroy crops, saving farmers money and lowering the need for pesticides. They disperse seeds, helping to regenerate forests and other habitats, and they pollinate flowers (including agave, which provides mezcal and tequila), which contributes to keeping the food supply healthy and plentiful.
   
Experts stressed that a cultural reappraisal of bats, shifting negative perceptions to positive ones, is crucial for their conservation. This can involve promoting educational programmes to dispel myths and highlight bats’ ecological benefits, like pest control and pollination, and engage communities in bat conservation efforts. 
   
A PhD researcher, Benneth Obitte, highlighted the declining bat populations in Nigeria, attributing it to deforestation and hunting. “These bats are forest-dependent. We have lost most of our forests across Nigeria,” Obitte said.
  
According to him, bats, often unseen and misunderstood, emerge as nature’s unsung allies. This year’s World Bat Day, themed “Bats: Nature’s Nighttime Allies”, reminds everyone of the essential roles these nocturnal mammals play in preserving ecological balance and supporting human livelihoods.

He explained that bats are often viewed negatively due to their nocturnal habits, association with darkness, while some cultures associate bats with witchcraft or bad luck and misinformation and fearmongering can lead to persecution and habitat destruction.
  
Also, an international conservation organisation, Wild Africa, emphasised the need to protect bats.”Bats provide essential ecosystem services: insect-eating species help control pests that damage crops, while fruit bats pollinate and disperse seeds for many wild and cultivated plants like mangoes, bananas, guavas, and baobabs,” Wild Africa stated. ​
   
Wild Africa’s West Africa spokesperson, Mark Ofua, said: “We celebrate the silent guardians of the night, nature’s tiny heroes who keep the ecosystems in balance. We must learn how to coexist with them and give them room to thrive once more, so we can thrive as well. 
  
 “I look forward to the passage of the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill currently before the House of Assembly, which is set to strengthen protections for our wildlife, including bats, and the forests and ecosystems vital to their survival.”
 
“Fruit bats, especially the straw-coloured fruit bat—Africa’s most hunted bat—are commonly consumed across Nigeria. This poses ecological and public health risks, as bats are known carriers of zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted to humans when consumed.”

“Bats provide essential ecosystem services: insect-eating species help control pests that damage crops, while fruit bats pollinate and disperse seeds for many wild and cultivated plants like mangoes, bananas, guavas, and baobabs.
  
Studies show that on cocoa farms in Cameroon, bats and birds save farmers up to $478 per hectare per year by reducing pest populations under shaded canopy conditions.
  
Ofua called on Nigerians, especially the policymakers at the National House of Assembly, to support the new bill and help secure a future for the country’s bat populations and broader biodiversity.