At least eights bats were found dead due to the prevailing heat wave conditions in a village in Odisha’s Jajpur district and efforts have been made to save the remaining winged mammals by spraying water on them, a forest department official said.

Bats are dying due to excessive heat in the last few days at Kabatabandha village under Dharmasala block, which is the habitat of thousands of such species. They are considered a sign of good luck for the locals.

“On being informed by the villagers that bats are dying due to the excessive heat wave condition, we went to the spot. We are spraying water onthem through sprinklers to save them from the scorching heat for thepast couple of days,” local forester Md Sakir Housen said on Monday.

The bats are night dwellers and they hang from trees during the day. “As the bats get direct exposure to the heat wave, they fall and die,” he said.

Housen said the spraying of water on the bats in Kabatabandha will continue until the weather condition improves. Kabatabandha village, barely 8km away from the Kalinga Nagar industrial complex, has been a safe habitat for the bats where their screech can be heard throughout the day. At least 5,000 bats are found on three big old trees by the side of the Brahmani river.

Villagers have been protecting and preserving the winged mammals for the last two decades. “We are protecting bats as we consider them sacred,” said Keshab Chandra Sahu, a villager of Kabatabandha.