Tag Archives: bat

Georgian Bats At The Tbilisi Zoo

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While bats are still sleeping here in Georgia, On March 16th, I lectured at the Tbilisi Zoo Educational Center on Bats in the World and Georgia. Ioseb Natradze, an Assistant researcher at the Laboratory of Vertebrate Animals of the Institute of Zoology of the llia State University of Georgia, and I talked about how incredible these creatures are, their Super Skills, and their importance to ecosystems. 

The students were super interested in all sorts of things, like what bats eat, their social structure, how they give birth, and how they fly. We only left the Educational Center because the room was needed for the following class.

In our next discussion, we will focus on studying bats’ contribution to Tbilisi’s sound environment with the help of researchers from the Ilia State University. I want to thank Irma Bochorishvili for providing us with this fantastic opportunity.

Editor’s Column For National Geographic Magazine – Georgia

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The Editor-In-Cheif traditional foreword in the January 2024 issue of National Geographic Magazine – Georgia is almost all about bats and our cover feature story, published in. Text: Bohdana Vashchenko, photography: Viktor Lyagushkin.

Thank you, Ketevan Chumburidze, for your help and work! It was a great pleasure to collaborate with you and all the team on the story.

The project was funded by the National Geographic Society.

ფანტასტიკური არსებები

Picture Of The Year – National Geographic Magazine – Georgia

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One more of our bats flies between rows of vines on the pages of the December 2023 issue of National Geographic Magazine – Georgia, hunting insect pests. The issue collected the best pictures of the year, and I am proud to say the photograph from our project, Bats of Georgia, is included. Congratulations to the photographer, Viktor Lyagushkin. 

Bat Cover Story in National Geographic Magazine – Georgia

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Look what I have! I am holding something very special! My bat cover feature story, Night Shift, is inside National Geographic Magazine — Georgia!

It’s all over: terrifying moments when nothing worked, when we couldn’t find bat colonies and perform photo shooting or the animals escaped and stultified our efforts; moments full of joy when we got more than expected; hot summer fieldwork when we dreamed the night would come quickly and bring some coolness.  

Stunning bat photographs by Viktor Lyagushkin (Vitya, CONGRATULATIONS!), ten spreads, 3,000 words, 67 days in the field.

It is winter here in Georgia, and our wingy models are hibernating. Sleep well, my bats; we did a great job!

Many thanks to the editorial team of National Geographic Magazine – Georgia for the fantastic work and great layout and your hints and ideas! Ruso and Katie, you are the best! Thank you, chiropterologists Ioseb (Soso) Natradze, Giorgi Sheklashvili, Alexander Bukhnikashvili, and Andrey Kandaurov, for your patience, friendly support, and knowledge; it was so lovely to work with you! Many thanks to Valeri Barbaqadze for your expertise in caves and to Amiran and Irina Tkabladze for your kindness and hospitality. 

Bat Lectures For Students

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That’s me, Bohdana Vashchenko, lecturing about bats for the 4th-grade students of Ilia State University (Tbilisi) ecotourism faculty on Wednesday, 20 December, 2023. We had a great conversation about the extraordinary abilities of bats and their important role in Georgia’s ecosystems. We also busted some common myths about these fascinating creatures. We also discussed how bats contribute to agroecosystems and how to start bat ecotourism in Georgia. 

Thank you, Natalia Bakhtadze Engländer and Ilia University, for this possibility! Thank you, Alexander Bukhnikashvili and Sofo, for coming and sharing your experience, brilliant humor, and knowledge of bats. 

Bats Of Georgia: The Lecture At Akaki Tsereteli State University

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I lectured at Akaki Tsereteli State University (Kutaisi, Georgia) on Monday, 25 November 2023. The talk was attended by students from the geography, biology, and ecology faculties in the 1st to 4th courses. National Geographic photographer @viktor_lyagushkin and I spoke at length about our project, funded by the National Geographic Society, which was dedicated to the bats of Georgia. We discussed bats’ unique abilities and the role of bats in Georgia’s ecosystems and debunked some of the myths surrounding them. We also talked about the importance of storytelling and community engagement.

I had the great pleasure of having such an interested and open-minded audience. I appreciate their enthusiasm and engagement. I want to express my gratitude to Irakli Julakidze for making this lecture possible and for his kind assistance during the event.