'I save endangered bats – now one of them has made it to the big screen'

A bat who was attacked by a cat has now become a TV star.

Animal lover Amy Schwartz, 28, an ecologist from Barry, Wales, is the proud owner of Noctule bat, Griff, who she rescued in September 2021.

And now the pair are featuring in their own campaign, alongside Ben Fogle, to celebrate the release of The Batman on Now TV, giving away cinema-themed bat boxes to raise awareness about the declining bat population.

A bat enthusiast from a young age, Amy started rescuing bats with her grandad.

‘When I was young my grandfather used to take me on guided bat walks, they’d lend out a bat detector as you walked around, that’s what started my interest in bats,’ said Amy.

‘I started rescuing them eight years ago. As an ecologist it’s normal to do bat care, so a lot of my friends take in bats, it just became a really normal thing to do.’

Amy turned her study into a bat saferoom in 2014, rehabilitating up to six bats at a time, alongside her animal menagerie including a house rabbit, a bearded dragon, a crested Gecko and five chickens.

In September 2021, she rescued Griff, who due to a broken wrist, was unable to be released back into the wild – becoming a permanent resident at Amy’s animal filled home.

‘He had been attacked by a cat and was found at a riding stable outside Cardiff,’ explained Amy.

‘He was mostly OK, but he had a swollen wrist. The vet gave him some antiviral antibiotics and painkillers.

‘But after the wrist swelling went away, he sat with his wing not fully tucked away.

‘He was also very reluctant to use it and he never tried to fly indoors. I took him to another vet who specialises in exotic animals and got him an x-ray.

‘His wrist had healed but in a way that limits his movement. He can’t fly properly so he couldn’t be released.’

She has a special licence to keep Griff as you can’t legally keep bats in the UK.

‘I’m always surrounded by animals,’ said Amy.

‘It surprises me to hear that people don’t like bats. They get a lot of bad press from vampires, but they are adorable.’

She keeps up to six bats at a time in the summer as a Bat Conservation Trust volunteer.

‘Late July is the busiest time of year,’ said Amy.

‘I can have five or six bats and be taking other phone calls advising people on what to do.

‘During middle to end of June most bats give birth. So, by end of July, you get both exhausted mother bats as well as juveniles being found.

‘But the winter is much quieter, in December I usually have one bat with me.

‘Bats are massively different in terms of their personalities, even within the same species. Griff is very curious, he’s always been easy to handle and very calm.

‘It makes him great for bringing along to events and showing kids bats up close.

‘He’s very good. Though sometimes he will try and find the dustiest corner in hard to reach places and get lovely and cosy.’

The Bat conservation Trust and streaming service Now, are giving away 100 free cinema themed bat boxes, styled as a classic miniature cinema. And Amy hopes that Griff will help raise awareness about the declining bat population.

Bats are one of the most endangered species in the UK, mostly caused by the disruption to their natural habitat – six of the UK’s 18 indigenous species are at risk of extinction.

Amy said: ‘Good publicity for bats is great. They are an important part of our ecosystem and bat boxes are a great way to encourage them within your area.’

‘Bats are an important part of our environment.

‘One of the easiest ways to encourage bats in your local area is to use bat boxes.

‘Reducing your use of pesticides and lowering levels of artificial light in your garden are all great ways to help bats.

‘Bats eat what we consider pest insects. They love to eat very small biting insects, such as midges and mosquitoes.

‘More common bats like, pipistrelles, eat midges. One was found to eat up to 3000 midges in one night, which is incredible.’

Apply for your free bat box at www.batboxcompetition.nowtv.com

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