Longleat's bat cave to reopen to the public
It's been shut since 2020, at the start of the Covid pandemic
Wiltshire safari park Longleat is to reopen its walk-through bat cave - five years after it closed.
The cave was shut in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, with work underway to get it ready for the public to visit again from Spring 2025.
The area's home to around 30 Egyptian fruit bats, with guests able to get up close and personal to them.
Simon Askew, Interim Chief Operating Officer at Longleat, said:
“We have regularly heard from guests that they missed the bat cave, after we took the difficult decision to close it. The views of our visitors and our keepers are so important to helping us shape our approach to ensuring conservation and education is at the heart of what we do.
“Having had the opportunity to upgrade the previous bat habitat, we are delighted to be bringing it back in early 2025.”
Darren Beasley, Head of Animal operations, said:
“It is appropriate that we can announce this during Bat Appreciation Week; the Egyptian fruit bat is classified as near threatened and our work across the Safari Park is supporting conservation and protection of endangered species.
“We shared last week that Longleat has 14 different native species of bat including three which are rare and four listed on the conservation red list for British mammals. While the Egyptian fruit bat is currently classified as near threatened, it means it is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.
“This species uses echolocation – detecting sound waves – to navigate and identify the flying insects they eat. They are the only type of bat who can be heard clearly by people.
“These bats are amazing ambassadors for the native species in the UK. All the keepers are excited about continuing to engage with visitors about bats and their vital importance to the ecosystem so together we can dispel so many myths that seem to have developed regarding their behaviours,” he added.
Chico and Truffles, our two-toed Sloths, are set to move into the same area from Animal Adventure.