"Bats Are There, But Who Will Protect Them?": Community and Institutional Perspectives on Cave-Dwelling Bat Conservation

Cave-dwelling bats face escalating anthropogenic pressures globally, yet their conservation is frequently compromised by limited community ecological literacy, persistent cultural myths, and inadequate integration of community and institutional perspectives into management. This study investigated community perceptions, staff knowledge, and short-term observations of bat activity at Sudwala Caves, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, to inform evidence-based conservation strategies. A qualitative socio-ecological design combined reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with Mankele community participants (n = 31), Sudwala management and tour guide personnel (n = 9), alongside structured field observations conducted by the researchers over three consecutive days in the main cave and exploratory visits to two adjacent unmanaged bat caves. Seven interrelated themes emerged: (1) ambivalent perceptions of bats, (2) cultural myths and misinformation, (3) stakeholder perceptions of declining bat abundance, (4) anthropogenic disturbance as a perceived conservation challenge, (5) gaps in ecological knowledge, (6) conservation willingness contingent on institutional leadership, and (7) bat-tourism interactions. Although a strong majority of community participants expressed willingness to support bat conservation, a substantial proportion demonstrated significant gaps in ecological knowledge, such as the inability to define pollination or identify specific ecological roles of bats. Cultural myths, particularly hair-related misconceptions, were also frequently reported. Both community members and cave personnel similarly perceived a long-term decline in bat abundance, a perception supported by short-term field observations that recorded relatively few visible bats in the main tourist cave. In contrast, exploratory observations of adjacent, low-disturbance caves revealed larger visible bat aggregations, providing comparative ecological context and generating hypotheses about the influence of chronic human disturbance on cave occupancy. These findings indicate that strong community support for bat conservation exists despite limited ecological literacy, and that integrating stakeholder perspectives with preliminary ecological observations can inform adaptive management while highlighting priorities for long-term population monitoring and behavioural studies. The study proposes practical recommendations centred on community education, strengthened institutional collaboration, reduced tourism-related disturbance, and formal protection of adjacent cave habitats. These findings provide an important qualitative baseline for adaptive management and future bat conservation research in South African show caves.