One of the rarest bats in Britain is under threat because of a “dramatic decline” in areas where they hunt for food, experts have warned.

There are only 1,000 grey long-eared bats left in the UK and numbers are declining, the Bat Conservation Trust said.

Researcher Orly Razgour said that the future survival of the species in the UK is “questionable” and called for greater conservation efforts to protect the mammal.

She said the decline in the population of the long-eared bat is likely to have occurred as a result of a reduction in the bats’ main foraging habitats – lowland meadows and marshlands.

Razgour said the bats should be added to the ‘UK Priority Species’ list of the most threatened species that require conservation action.

More work needs to be done to protect maternity roost sites, where female bats raise their young, and hibernation places, she said.

The UK’s grey long-eared bats need greater conservation efforts before we lose them

“The UK’s grey long-eared bats need greater conservation efforts before we lose them,” said Razgour.

“Despite being one the rarest UK mammals, up until recently there was very little known about the grey long-eared bat and what it needs to survive.

“Studying the grey long-eared bat, I realised that the plight of this bat demonstrates many of the threats and conservation challenges facing wildlife, from the effects of habitat loss and climate change to the problem of small isolated populations.”

These bats are one of Britain’s rarest mammals that live in the south coast of England, including the Isle of Wight, with a small number found in the Channel Islands. Experts have also found one of the mammals in South Wales.

They are traditionally a cave-dwelling species but have become dependent on buildings such as lofts or barns for roost sites.