BAT PREDATION BY SMALL CARNIVORES IN A CENTRAL AFRICAN RAIN-FOREST

Fragments of four species of bats (Mops cf. spurrelli, Nycteris age, H ipposideros cyclops H, ruber) were identified in seals of small carniv ores collected in a tropical rainforest of Central African Republic. F or all four species the Dzanga forest constitutes the second locality record in this country. Genets (Genetta servalina) and long-nosed mong oose (Herpestes naso) were identified as the predator species. Bats oc curred in only 0.4% of the seats analyzed. The few examples refer to b at species which roost solitarily or in small groups. Their presence i n the seats can be attributed to chance encounters. Large bat colonies seem to be rare or inaccessible in the study area.