Merlin and Dr. Neil Furey, a conservation biologist who’s worked in Cambodia for the past six years with extensive knowledge of SE Asian bats, co-led a cave conservation workshop preceding the Association for Tropical Biology & Conservation–Asia-Pacific Chapter Annual Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The nine participants consisted of Cambodian Master Class students with classroom and practical experience related to bats. The workshop illustrated caves with past use by bats, the kind of caves different species prefer, how to survey and prioritize bat caves for protection, and finally options for protection.
Neil led with a presentation on why bat cave conservation is especially important in SE Asia. On both days of the workshop, the group was taken to several caves to see the things discussed in the morning lectures. In the evening a few of the group trapped bats at a cave and brought them to Merlin who demonstrated his techniques for taking portraits of bats.
