Grey long-eared bat

Grey long-eared bats are amongst the rarest mammals in the UK, found only in a few places in southern England. It can be very difficult to distinguish from the more common brown long-eared bat. Relatively little is known about its habitat use which is different to the brown long-eared bat. Despite the closeness of Kent to the continental mainland, where it is much more common, there have only been two validated records of this species in the county, both in the 1980s. One was recorded hibernating in an underground passage in the Napoleonic fortifications at Dover, and the other was discovered on a ship in Dover harbour. There is also a recent validated record (2025) based on DNA from droppings in Kent.