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.

Picture Of The Year – National Geographic Magazine – Georgia

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

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

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

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.


Exhibition “Magical World of the White Sea” in Moscow park “Green River”

Viktor Lyagushkin’s exhibition “Magical World of the White Sea” opened In Moscow park “Green River”. It will run until the beginning of April.

The exhibit presents 47 works, this is the most complete selection of underwater photographs of the White Sea.

Ice and Beasts in Divemaster Magazine

Two huge materials at once: about the world’s first art gallery under the ice, which opened on the White Sea on the basis of the touristic center “Arctic Circle” within the framework of our team’s project “Until the ice melts”.

And a second one is a long article about how the shooting for our project “White Sea Bestiary” took place: about creativity, mysticism and photography in the article by Bogdana Vashchenko for those who know German.

Well, the cover by Viktor Lyagushkin.