SEOs: Monday Veli Mdluli, Prof Peter Taylor, Department of Zoology and Entomology

Monday Veli Mdluli, a PhD student of Prof Peter Taylor, Professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology, wrote a children’s book about bats as part of an environmental education project.

He says, “I do community-based research that seeks to change people's attitudes towards bats and to spread awareness about the importance of bats in the environment and their ecological value.”

Value of bats in the environment

Through this environmental education project, which started in late 2021, Mdluli has so far been able to conduct bat awareness classes and engagement research in four schools in Phuthaditjhaba and one primary school in Clarens.

According to Mdluli, the book itself is a fiction story that seeks to teach the reader more about bats. Despite being fiction, there are a lot of accurate scientific facts that teach about the value of bats in the environment. It is guaranteed to keep the readers entertained while learning at the same time.

“The book is about a ten-year-old boy who, after getting lost on top of a mountain, becomes friends with a bat that helps him navigate his way down 

the mountain and back home. The boy grows passionate about bats and their conservation. With the help of his science teacher, he starts giving bat awareness talks at his school, but this is met with heavy backlash from some of the community elders who believe that bats are a symbol of ill omen, which results in the boy and teacher almost getting suspended for showing a live bat to students. It takes a great courageous effort from the bats and the Chief of the community to finally convince everyone that the bats are important for the well-being of both the community and the ecosystem.”

True scientific facts about bats

“With this book, we hope to get people to judge bats not from myths based on misconceptions, but rather from true scientific facts. We hope the book gives people more positive attitudes towards bats,” says Mdluli.

The Mountain Bat Lab is hosting a Bat Tie fundraising gala event on Thursday 17 November 2022. Proceeds from this event, where Dr Merlin Tuttle, a world-renowned photographer and conservationist, will be the guest speaker, will go towards the publication of Mdluli’s bat-centred children’s book. The book will be available in English and Sesotho for circulation in local schools.

Mdluli will do a reading from the book at the gala event, where the book (which has been written but not published) will be showcased.