Rationale
Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, its occurrence in many protected areas across its range and because there are no major identified threats that could cause widespread population decline. Although this species is often found in low numbers in the assessment region with groups of fewer than five animals, more than 50 subpopulations are currently known and it occurs in at least eight protected areas. No declines have been recorded.
Regional population effects: The population is continuous in countries neighbouring the assessment region and the species has intermediate wing-loading (Schoeman & Jacobs 2008), which indicates that dispersal and rescue effects are possible.
Distribution
This largely Southern African species ranges from southern Angola in the west, through parts of Namibia, South Africa, southern Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, with a single record as far north as southwestern Kenya (ACR 2015). It occurs widely but sparsely in southern Africa, from western Namibia and extreme southwestern Angola, south to the Northern and Western Cape, east to Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal, and north to Zimbabwe, with isolated records in Zambia, central Mozambique, and southern Malawi (Kearney et al. 2008). In the assessment region, the species occurs in eight provinces of South Africa: Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, North West, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. It also occurs within Lesotho (Lynch 1994). It is likely to occur in Swaziland based on habitat models (Monadjem et al. 2010). The type specimen is from Uitenhage, Eastern Cape (Monadjem et al. 2010). The estimated extent of occurrence is 1,117,751 km2.
Population trend
Trend
This species is sparsely distributed but locally common where it does occur. It is more common in some regions of its distribution such as Zimbabwe, but is thought to be rarer in South Africa. The patchy nature of its distribution is probably a function of its roosting requirements (see Habitat and Ecology section) (Monadjem et al. 2010). Shortridge (1942) indicated this bat was not plentiful around Goodhouse in the Northern Cape of South Africa, and only observed half a dozen individuals. In other instances, specimens have either been found singly or in groups of two to five (for example, Herselman & Norton 1985; Watson 1998; ACR 2015). This species is relatively well represented in museums, with over 60 specimens examined in Monadjem et al. (2010).
Conservation
It has been recorded from several protected areas in South Africa including Kruger National Park, Mapungubwe National Park, Magaliesberg Natural Environment, Ithala Game Reserve, Ukahlamba Drakensberg World Heritage Site, Sterkfontein Nature Reserve, Cederberg Wilderness Area and Table Mountain National Park. It is presumably also present in other protected areas within other parts of the species range. No direct interventions are necessary but it would benefit from the protection of larger rocky habitat types, riverine areas and surrounding natural vegetation.
Recommendations for land managers and practitioners:
- Reduce pesticide use in agricultural landscapes.
Research priorities:
- Further studies are needed into the distribution of this species.
- Systematic monitoring of subpopulation trends is required.
Encouraged citizen actions:
- Citizens can assist the conservation of the species by reporting sightings on virtual museum platforms (for example, iSpot and MammalMAP), and therefore contribute to an understanding of the species distribution.
