Jamaica Launches Six-Month Exhibition on Bats

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica, home to 21 bat species, including five found nowhere else on earth, is being urged to help preserve the country’s bat population, which plays a vital role in safeguarding biodiversity and ensuring the stability and resilience of ecosystems.

Jamaica’s endangered funnel-eared batA six-month exhibition, titled Guardians of the ‘Night: Celebrating Jamaica’s Remarkable Bats’, has been mounted by the Natural History Museum of Jamaica (NHMJ), a division of the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), as part of the ongoing work to promote environmental education and cultural heritage among Jamaicans.

Speaking at the launch of the exhibition, IOJ executive director, Michele Creed-Nelson, said bats are often misunderstood, adding “these animals are not pests, they are pollinators.

“They are not to be chased away. They are seed spreaders, forest regenerators, and natural pest controllers,” she said, noting that increased human intrusion, urbanization, and habitat destruction continue to threaten bat populations across the island.

“Our responsibility is clear; we must preserve these vital spaces. If we act, we can preserve the species themselves,” she said.

The exhibition highlights the island’s diverse bat population, including two critically endangered species found in a limited number of caves. Jamaica is home to 21 bat species, including eight others found only in the Caribbean.

Mrs. Creed-Nelson said that the exhibition, which involves collaboration with Bat Conservation International (BCI) and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), reflects years of conservation work.

“I cannot overstate the significance of this exhibition, which brings to life, through colorful, dramatic, and thoughtfully creative displays, one of the most misunderstood yet vital creatures of our environment.

“It is our job, as guardians of this knowledge, to ensure that future generations understand the importance of conservation of the species,” she added.

NEPA chief executive officer, Leonard Francis, hailed the exhibition as timely and impactful.

“This is a celebration of one of nature’s most fascinating and essential creatures,” he said, noting that bats play a significant role in pollination, seed dispersal, and insect control.

Francis said that bats are often misunderstood due to cultural and religious associations.

“Culturally, Jamaicans have been socialized to fear the dark, and because bats are nocturnal… they have been associated with being a creature of the night,” he said, noting that that Bat Conservation International, which has worked in Jamaica since 2018, has “given a lot of financial and technical assistance to the conservation of bats in this small and beautiful island of Jamaica”.

Francis highlighted the urgent need to protect endemic species, including the critically endangered Jamaican funnel-eared bat, adding that, “each of us has a role to play in protecting the delicate balance of life that sustains us all”.