The 1st Austrian Bat House in Feistritz/Gail is open to the public from June to August every Friday and on the 1st Sunday of the month between 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Guided tours for groups of 8 or more can be booked at any time through the Arge NATURSCHUTZ.
The Bat House is located on the Vorderberger Landesstraße, approximately 2 km west of the village of Feistritz/Gail. It houses a colony of Lesser Horseshoe Bats, which can be observed live inside the building. The animals are found in the attic of the building as well as in the bat room on the 1st floor, which is only separated from the information rooms by a glass pane. This allows visitors to observe the approximately 50-bat nursery colony of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat undisturbed.
In addition to the animals that can be observed on-site, visitors receive exciting information about the lifestyle of native bats, with a special focus on the Lesser Horseshoe Bat. Display boards, sketches, models, video recordings, and a PowerPoint presentation round off the offerings.
The Arge NATURSCHUTZ coordinates the dates for group and school programs.
On request, tours for groups of 8 or more can be booked.
For school classes, there is also a special offer with an age- and school-type-specific information program. The offers are free for all visitors this year.
The Lesser Horseshoe Bat is one of our smallest bat species and owes its name to its horseshoe-shaped nose appendage. Horseshoe bats hang upside down, like all bat species, when they rest. A particular characteristic of the horseshoe bats is that they envelop themselves with their wings like a cloak.
In the nursery colonies, pregnant females gather together. From June onwards, the young are born—one per female bat—and are cared for by their mothers until they become independent.
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Location and how to find us
The Nassfeld-Pressegger See holiday region lies in the Austrian province of Carinthia, directly next to the Italian border.
