Ukrainians Release Rescued Bats in Celebration of Survival During War

Thought Question: What helps you find hope or keep going during difficult or stressful times in your life?

To many people, bats are scary creatures that can carry disease and evoke images of blood-sucking vampires. To Ukrainians, they are a symbol of hope.

On a recent night in Kyiv, more than 1,000 crowdgoers gathered in a park. They came to witness the release of hundreds of bats. The bats were threatened by habitat loss and humans before Russia invaded their country. The gathering was an act of defiance, resilience, and relief in celebration of survival. That's not only for the nation’s endangered bats, but also for the Ukrainian people. They'd just survived a harsh winter of freezing temps and crippling power cuts from constant shelling by Russia.  

“Life goes on despite the war,” Oleksii Beliaiev told The Associated Press (AP). “The war is the main thing right now, but there has to be something else as well.” Beliaiev, 54, lives in Kyiv.

In Ukraine, bats are called кажани (kazhanee). That, or Літаючі миші (le-tyu-chee mee-shee). That literally means “flying mice." The country's 28 bat species are all protected by law. Biologists consider them a boon to nature. That's because they disperse seeds, pollinate plants, and kill pests. That includes insects, which threaten crops and other wildlife.

Bats hibernate during winter. They often lie dormant in buildings where constant blasts by Russian drones and rockets have killed entire colonies. Bats produce only one or two offspring a year, which makes it harder to protect them during war. The Ukrainian Bat Rehabilitation Center (UBRC), which hosted the festival, said it has saved 30,000 bats, including 4,000 during the recent winter.  

Alona Prylutska works for the center. She is a UBRC conservationist. She told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that her organization is not deterred by war. The UBRC has worked to save bats for two decades, she said. 

"We do what we can, each of us, in Ukraine," she said.

Gif of bat in flight courtesy PBS Nature on Giphy.