Le Figaro Marseille
These little creatures are not necessarily praised.
But the city of Marseille decided to take care of it.
The town hall, headed by the former socialist Benoît Payan, has just published a call for tenders to redevelop an important cave for the well-being of bats, Le
Figaro
learned from Christine Juste, assistant ecologist in charge of the animal in town, confirming initial information from Marsactu.
For a total of 260,000 euros, the city is seeking to redevelop the Loubière cave, located on the Étoile massif, in the 13th arrondissement of Marseille.
“The Loubière cave has a special history
,” recalls Christine Juste.
It was used for a time as an underground nightclub.
She experienced incivility with tags inside.
It is also said to have been used as a local radio recording studio.
In short, there were a whole bunch of types of uses in this cave before this project.”
Ultrasounds to bring them back
“But it has also been identified as one of the most important breeding sites in the sector in the past, particularly for two particular species of bats
,” continues Christine Juste.
However, according to the deputy, the human presence in this cave has caused the bats to flee from this place.
“However, it is very important to maintain the presence of bats in the Étoile massif,”
she believes.
All nocturnal biodiversity is very important both for the flora, but also for many species, in particular the reproduction of certain insects.
A bat eats up to 2000 mosquitoes per night.
So we want them to feed!
The bat is endangered due to light pollution and the disappearance of its inhabitant.
However, it is important to restore a balance in biodiversity.”
In detail, this public market aims to
“restore the cave’s function as a sanctuary for bats”
.
“We are going to remove everything that man has done in the way of work inside the cave, and in particular the tags,”
explains Christine Juste
.
We will also redevelop and check that the temperature and hydrometry are conducive to bats.
And since they have lost this site in their little internal GPS, the idea is to attract them using ultrasound so that they come back.
The deputy mayor also says she is considering organizing visits to the cave for Marseille schoolchildren.
Candidates for this public contract have until April 8 to apply.