European Bat Night

To mark the 11th European Bat Night, the Maksimir Park Zoo organized entertainment and educational events to teach children about the need to protect and preserve this endangered species through fun activities and games.

Šiško, Cici, Joža and Blindy are but a few of the names that the youngest citizens of Zagreb gave to their new pets - bats who were summoned from the Veternica cave on the occasion to help mark the 11th European Bat Night. During the event, organized under the name, The Twilight Zone, at the Maksimir Park Zoo, the youngest citizens of Zagreb learned a thing or two about these useful little creatures. They could see that there is no reason to fear bats and they should not be afraid of them. Through fun activities and games, the children were educated about the need to protect this endangered species and were given an opportunity to symbolically adopt their own bat from the Veternica cave and win a T-shirt in return.
 
A total of 35 different bat species inhabit Croatia. They feed on insects and present no danger either to humans or animals. They fall under the category of endangered species and are protected by very stringent nature protection laws. Their biggest enemies are spray pesticides. Killing a bat entails a very high pecuniary penalty. With a view to preserving this species, the first society for the protection of bats - Tragus, has recently been established in Croatia. Events such as the one at the Zagreb Zoo raise awareness among the youngest generations of the need to protect bats.