Join the Nightlife: 2024 Recap
October 31, 2024
Thanks to all the Join the Nightlife: Bats and Agriculture attendees who joined us out in the field this year! Guests got hands-on experience with
We spent three days at the Meletse Bat Research & Training Center in the Meletse Mountain Valley at a very nice facility owned by Aquila Steel South Africa. This company also owns the nearby Gatkop Cave, home to one of South Africa’s most important bat caves, which it protects along with surrounding habitat in collaboration with AfricanBats (AfricanBats Facebook Page) a nonprofit conservation organization founded by Ernest Seamark. The company has generously permitted use of its facility as a center for bat research. Mining operations will be located approximately four kilometers away.
The Gatkop Cave is home to as many as 250,000 Natal long-fingered bats (Miniopterus natalensis) and at least seven additional species of bats, including four of our favorites, the Short-eared trident bat (Cleotis persivali), the Peak-saddle horsehoe bat (Rhinolophus blasii), the Common slit-face bat (Nycteris theobaica) and the Sandevall’s leaf-nosed bat, (Hipposideros caffer).
On our first night, we were joined by two Ph.D. students, Stewart and Terrence, from Dr. Wanda Markotter’s lab at the University of Pretoria. They joined Ernest and Merlin in setting a small bat trap in a flyway near the cave entrance. Over the next two evenings we were able to capture and photograph eight bat species there. Also, Merlin enjoyed the opportunity to discuss shared concerns regarding recently sensationalized reports of diseases linked to bats as well as management options for the cave.
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Thanks to all the Join the Nightlife: Bats and Agriculture attendees who joined us out in the field this year! Guests got hands-on experience with
Supporter and friend of MTBC, Australian conservation and animal welfare photojournalist Doug Gimesy, had his images recognized in two categories at the recent Siena International
Fieldwork requires a lot of equipment, but photography requires even more! During our June 2024 photography workshop, we transported over 100 lbs. of equipment —
Within the dim limestone passageways of Caverna Santa Catalina, the air came alive with bats. I stood in awed silence, taking in the rush of
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Michael Lazari Karapetian has over twenty years of investment management experience. He has a degree in business management, is a certified NBA agent, and gained early experience as a money manager for the Bank of America where he established model portfolios for high-net-worth clients. In 2003 he founded Lazari Capital Management, Inc. and Lazari Asset Management, Inc. He is President and CIO of both and manages over a half a billion in assets. In his personal time he champions philanthropic causes. He serves on the board of Moravian College and has a strong affinity for wildlife, both funding and volunteering on behalf of endangered species.