Jersey Zoo Welcomes 12 Newborn Bats Following Infection Outbreak

Jersey Zoo Celebrates Bat Baby Boom After Deadly Disease Outbreak

Jersey Zoo is celebrating the arrival of 12 Livingstone’s fruit bat pups, marking a hopeful turn in the recovery of its bat colony following a deadly disease outbreak earlier this year.

Earlier in 2025, an outbreak of pasteurellosis—an often fatal bacterial infection—led to the deaths of 10 of the rare bats, prompting urgent containment measures. Zookeepers quickly moved the entire colony behind closed doors and split the 70 remaining bats into smaller groups for targeted antibiotic treatment.

While the Bat Roost remains closed to the public, zoo officials report that the colony is now stable, with no new deaths and close monitoring still underway. The birth of a dozen pups has been hailed as a positive sign of the colony’s recovery.

"The mothers and their pups are all doing well," said staff at the zoo. "It’s encouraging to see the bats thriving again."

In a pioneering effort to protect the species in captivity, work is ongoing to develop a vaccine against pasteurellosis. The vaccine, a collaboration between Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and an external pharmaceutical partner, would be the first of its kind for captive fruit bats.

Livingstone’s fruit bats are native to just two islands in the Comoros—Anjouan and Mohéli—where they face mounting threats from habitat loss due to deforestation and extreme weather. Jersey Zoo has been at the forefront of conservation efforts for more than three decades, working to safeguard the species from extinction.

While the Bat Roost remains off-limits to visitors for now, the zoo says it is actively exploring ways to reopen the exhibit in the future.