Shock as bat species declared extinct 'could be recolonising in West Sussex'

The greater mouse-eared bat – Myotis myotis – was declared extinct in Britain in 1992. But since 2002 a single male has been recorded hibernating in disused railway tunnels in West Sussex and was thought to be the only one in existance in this country.

Officially known as ‘Britain’s rarest mammal,’ the bat was thought to be a vagrant that had crossed the channel from France where there is an established population and took up residence in Britain.

However, during this year’s National Bat Monitoring Programme on January 14 members of Sussex Bat Group were astonished to find a second greater mouse-eared bat hibernating in the network of tunnels, in addition to the single existing known male, who has been hibernating in the area for the past 20 years.