after a year they're drawn back to this place by the millions. these terrible us better known as robots all find foxes frocked to a little forest in zambia. it's thought to be the world's largest mammal migration. and one of africa's greatest unsolved mysteries. researchers from germany are trying to learn more about these mega bats to do that

they're hoping to catch a few of them with a net the scientists are setting up a trap at 2 am because it must be ready before sunrise or they're flying foxes are not turned off they can still see better by day than at night because unlike other bats flying foxes don't echolocate they use their sense of sight to navigate. as an insult is nets it's we must always keep the net off the ground and then open up the compartments so it hangs completely straight at the top so the bats don't see it and it deflate them or as it is not seen as a work in complete silence with no light and only night vision goggles see them and then we hope will catch them but you never know. these are the images from the night vision goggles at night the flying foxes leave the trees where they've spent their day sleeping and set off in search of food mainly fruits and berries. the researchers wait for 2 hours and then they have

a stroke of luck for flying foxes get caught in a nets. carefully they are untangle them. each of these sacks contains one flying fox this keeps them from getting injured until the researchers have time to examine them now in the early morning light it becomes evident why these animals are flying foxes. one fascinating about this animal is that it's probably flown 2000 kilometers to get here to meet with millions of others but we don't know where it's come from nor if it will return to the same place or go elsewhere. but that could soon change for the 1st time researchers are trying to follow the mega bats right path by attaching transmitters to them that advises look big but wait just a few grams. in an incredible feat of strength the flying fox is make

their way to zambia each year covering thousands of kilometers on seemingly fragile wings with their nightly search for food is impressive to fruit bats travel up to 200 kilometers each night in a few months time their scientists hope they'll know more about the exact right path of the largest mammal migration the flying fox is given a piece of apple to give it strength then it's allowed to return to the forest. the forest measures just 505-1000 metres its small size makes it hugely vulnerable . to gamekeeper's patrol here regularly to protect both the forest and the animals and these men have been doing this job for close to 30 years but they still look forward to each november when the flying foxes come and stay for 4 weeks. where

once $200.00 species of flying fox but they have become extinct and another $22.00 are endangered. and humans are to blame for cutting down the forests and destroying their natural habitat. so this little forest in zambia is important to the animals survival hj. every year every year not even a year in between to me i thank. you. in my to say it will be very difficult for them to finding a place. it's mainly poachers who are threatening than natural habitat the poachers keep setting fires around the little forest they figured with the trees gone grass will grow in this one attract antelopes goal than be easy prey in open terrain

theories and i really do bending that the for them with can be here for that through to see that any more than they do hoof fit this and that it can be easier for them threaded to benny in the dark. because. some of them they're using associated with some very very well or other criminals they can even shoot at before seeing the same that's one of the risks of my job. while the coaches do pose a great danger to the flying foxes what they really are is the animal who's drax the 2 game keepers are now following. the antelope.

hundreds could strike at any time. movie ana and columbus say that if they can prevent them from setting fires then they're flying foxes will survive. that's why because some guy national park relies on he go in on soccer a man known here as the education officer. he pays regular visits to the surrounding villages because that's where most of the poachers live. with people like joseph. is actually a farmer who grows corn peanuts and vegetables. yams are growing in these mounds of earth. a. while yet the education officer that most of his harvest goes towards feeding his family so he has little left to sell. the. i had to

pay my children's school fees and hunting seemed like the easiest way. out snares and the next day i usually called an animal and i sell it so much children go to school now. joseph walia has 10 children to feed. and he's like many here driven to poach out of sheer desperation not to greet. a community should see to it that they protect what we have in the back so that we have a lot of people being employed in the back out of clubs to be buying from them when they are going to do a lot of money and at the same time if we are going to have a lot of $20.00 scamming to their back they brought it to with a vitamin. farmers like joseph valya are now being told more efficient farming methods so they can better the incomes. without resorting to poaching. that we have

. taken in money has brought along an instructor who shows wiley and his wife how to get rid of us and how to fertilize their fields naturally. it seems to be working well. joseph while your says himself through with poaching he's even willing to put up with a flying fox is eating fruit from his trees. some villagers used to be like boxes up the trees and skin them and eat them. today that rarely happens though sometimes children still catch and kill them for their grandparents. but if you want to. even today the education officer still encounters prejudices and age old to booze

well flying foxes are concerned they want provided a reliable source of meat each november the families in the villages and myths and superstitions still surround these maggots. we pay a visit to the village is traditional healer. so i want to. tell those i want. this world is full of worries and sorrow she said. the healer knows the villages concerns before she talks about the flying fox says she 1st wants to get a sense of what's troubling him. to get an appointment with you must agree to undergo treatment. some people burn flying foxes. then they have the ashes tattooed under their skin in the hopes of acquiring the mega bats

abilities. like being able to see better at night. but of course that's not ok. she doesn't use any flying foxes in her medicines she prescribed a powder which she says will help him with his biggest problem janice colleagues. take it morning noon and night 3 times a day. she says the powder is a purely remedy. but the. people who make medicine from flying foxes catch them with a sticky substance that they smear on the branches of fruit trees the animals become attached to it like magnets that's what these sorcerers do but some of them also know how to call the animals then they come flying and let themselves be caught easily if that's how they do it. definitely and.

tradition to play a major role here even those who reject medicines made from flying foxes still seem to believe him sorceress in the magical powers or. doesn't make it any easier to protect the terror. has another appointment in the village today he says there is only one way to combat superstition by educating young people if the next generation understands that flying fox is don't possess supernatural powers that will help to ensure the animal survival. is 16 and one of the best pupils in the village and soccer takes a look at her homework and her grandmother being miss with pride. salon won

a place in a scholarship program financed by the cassandra national park. the test was set for these 2 teams then from the distance we can. see that was the case and. we selected her and we deformation that she's given it to my that day some time back in mind their mother died when she was 2 years or that. i love going to school because i learn new things the city and i hope that one day i can lead a life like people elsewhere and become a teacher or a doctor. that's why i like going to school most of all. this is the toughest let them go through a salon school uniform tuition and books and now paid for her educating young people like ours is an investment in natural conservation. grasshopper soup is on

the menu today salons grandmother has 11 months to feed but things are looking up same salon want her scholarship. if she actually finishes her education then maybe she can contribute some money to help me then i could hire a farm hand to help with the work and buy some food if you actually. got the salon has become an environmental ambassador just like a mental you can in one soccer today he's a guest in salons class at school. a few of you say the soles of your grandparents will return as flying foxes. but the truth is they are god's creation and have no magical powers. now. now it's time for an expression when santa is taking so long and some classmates on

a trip to the national park. it's an opportunity for us to see animals that we don't know yes he's big ones too i mean that and we learn why it's important to protect the bush family. most of the use have never been taken sanker national park before though it's just 10 kilometers from their village. in the park there's a museum designed specially for visits from school groups on display ask uls of crocodiles hippos and of course bones from flying foxes them mainly what the children are here to learn about educating schoolchildren is part of the fight against poaching and prejudice. gamekeeper colomba is here today to ensure the children's safety he's painting is hopes on this younger generation. when they grow maybe i'd be bored again decided to combine

the work with him dog which we which i'm doing. so i am a bit in oregon it's all i said it was. after 3 hours of theoretical instruction they're heading for the bush. children from other classes are also riding in the truck. a total of 40 young people profit from the cars some kind of scholarship program. isn't the only one the park is training to be an environmental ambassador thanks. so the national park lies in a swamp if it's a natural habitat for animals that are rarely seen elsewhere in the region so rangers and colombia want to show the young people one of these creatures the extremely rare. tourists come from far and wide to see them

this is the 1st time these local children have cited one. so you can see appreciate it he said i think. it's it's well if you did say so traditionally and what is he to say so i think a story so that i'd be so to this to come back a day so he had generation which is going to get so out of. this that solange can hardly tab south away from the antelope so there's no time to waste so it's getting dark and a few kilometers away the 1st flying foxes have already woken up unless the words. i've got i get to see this i'll tell everyone how.

ben knight folds and the flying foxes take flight. 11 hours later don't want is breaking and the flying fox colony returns just before sunrise. the scientists from germany are here watching them they hope that their research will help people to realize how vital these mega bats are to the ecosystem. many people fear flying foxes because they're suspected of transmitting ebola virus and other diseases. of the max planck institute considers that unlikely. they're eating in vast quantities in many countries people use lead shot to shoot them down and pick up the bats while they're bleeding and biting if that was so

dangerous we'd be seeing constant outbreaks in hospitals but that's not the case. then they take the road out of the words. the scientists hope to prove that flying foxes are necessary for the bush's very survival. thanks to their droppings flying foxes describes large amounts of seeds throughout the region promoting the growth of bushes and fruit trees. now the researchers hope to learn just how many of these mega bats are flying around every night until now they've only been able to estimate their numbers the scientists a began to set up cameras around the forest in order to count them later they'll use specialized software to analyze the lady and. the great thing is it gives us much more than just their numbers so we can see when the winds coming from the north do they they're off myself and we want to find out

if they communicate with one another when they make these tornadoes is back tornadoes. received another visit from the national parks education officer he. is here to show the farmer how he can more money without having to resort to poaching by extracting honey. the smoke from the fire is supposed to calm the beads. the national park is training farmers like walia to become beekeepers some 4000 hives unplanned. is still a bit unsure of himself he's only been a beekeeper for 2 weeks. his visit. here that i didn't of but in it as they are going to put in it that they help the body need for a switch and if he sees or saw this with the support their population

overall the number of birds will be many of the same time they will be able to and that even from the island that they have a still from living here that. is working with our plants as he trusts in effectiveness of the smoke right away he gets 5 times but monsanto says that won't happen once the new beekeeper counts down. he heads home bob to the work of an education officer is never really down on the way he meets a man making charcoal in a pot of. many people do this here to and some extra cash i'm in government and i knew it and got him but at the if i sell the charcoal my wife can use the money to buy fish for the family. but that doesn't convince a girl in months he knows that every tree felled by charcoal burners is one tree less for the ecosystem one less for flying foxes and other creatures this takes

so many years for the truth and i. doubt the states had a friend that we're in is required of them that to be destroyed by the same 10 days a month will. cause that there's anything is there more that we have come up to say when we destroy one graphical print 12. months our count tries to persuade the charcoal burner to join the beekeepers in training where the man doesn't know convinced sally. charcoal hope is a quicker way to end catch. us her was. back at the village school salons big moment has arrived. i want to. caution you know she doesn't just tell her fellow pupils about flying foxes she also explains that you don't always have to chop down trees to make a fine and that sometimes the reflection from a light is enough to ignite one providing you use the right combustible material

salon recommends using dead leaves and rotten tree bark and national park awarded salon and her classmates an award for coming up with this idea. that would satisfy a lot but it's important to protect the environment especially the bush that's because the trees that produce oxygen for us and of course the bush is also a habitat for animals he says it's. going to save our flying foxes sing the children. oh now i. don't doubt it most of the schoolchildren in the village of long understood what some adults here still fail to comprehend that week was. the gamekeeper's move beyond and colomba have discovered the site of another file

located not far from the ranges camp the poachers are growing ever bolder fresh green grass is now running here but that's not the only draw advanta loves no one even the animals that isn't why they like u.t. they come when the ashis off the benny they come with their they come one who don't live on the ashes so as a last resort the gang people. themselves chop down bushes and trees. this creates a fire break around the woods to prevent a blaze from spreading to the forest where the flying foxes congregate their environmental ists sacrifice trees to protect other trees. meanwhile night is falling and the flying foxes take to the skies again.

the german scientists estimate that there are around 10000000 food bats here but they also believe that their numbers have been declining for years and that this could have dramatic consequences. but i'll be good enough because if you extrapolate it that means each night they spread millions of seeds and therefore plant trees. and if that stopped happening it would be an incredible loss to the environment because it was just induced lies don't follow the fate of the flying foxes lies in the hands of the people in the surrounding villages. and salons generation promises to play a major role. each night she reads a few verses from the bible before she goes to sleep she says it's even written in the holy scripture that people must protect nature. telling people that bats don't

have evil power was that good for us some species even eat insects that would bite us at. salon says that gaunt created flying foxes and it's our responsibility to ensure that this creation survives she hopes to convince everyone to do that.

possibly the most famous face in the world. queen elizabeth. 'd her portrait has been painted countless times. is there anything else to. matter mini i'm still fat takes up the challenge of. being able

to say you. didn't. the various one of germany's most popular tourist destinations the region's incredible variety of landscapes make it a paradise for those seeking a more active holiday so it looks like i'm going to get a lot of exercise even while i'm here and while i'm at it i want to find out the ways in which the coronavirus endemic and climate change are affecting tourism here in the us to give. 60. dollars. home for. we know this is a scary time for the coronavirus is changing the world changing our lives so please take care of yourself good systems wash your hands if you can stay at

how we are d.w.p. are here for you we are working tirelessly to keep you informed on overwhelmed we're all in this together and together and when they can. still use it everybody. is very certain stay safe the previous instances. spend the night in a converted cable cars on the high up in the swiss alps to find out how your next reporter use a figure.