Native to Britain, greater horseshoes enhance landscapes for other wildlife, people and communities. By the end of the 20th century, their population had fallen to just 5,000 individuals. This catastrophic decline was caused largely by changes in the way humans managed land – including the use of pesticides and removal of hedgerows – which led to a reduction in insects for food, roosts and hibernation sites.

Endangered bats are a significant focus of our work and our team manages seven nature reserves specifically for greater horseshoes. Together, these reserves host half of the current British population. Our sites include western Europe’s largest known maternity roost and the Bryanston reserve in Dorset that is featured in BBC4’s documentary Inside the Bat Cave.

Thanks to conservation efforts with landowners and volunteers, greater horseshoe numbers are now estimated to be 13,000 in Britain. But there is still a long way to go in the overall greater horseshoe bat recovery.

Please donate whatever you can to our Greater Good appeal:

• £10 could help safeguard internationally important maternity roosts
• £25 could help train 20 community volunteers in species monitoring
• £50 could help us work with partners and landowners to carry out habitat improvements