Researchers studying bat species in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra have found that the populations of most species have declined significantly over a decade.

"There has been a massive decline in the numbers of most of the species that we studied. Some of the areas where we had recorded the presence of bat colonies were found to have been deserted. In other areas the roosting sites remained, but there has been a decline in numbers," said Kranti Yardi, associate professor at the Institute of Environment Education and Research at Bharati Vidyapeeth.