Conservationists warn of impact on world’s largest mammal migration, key to seed dispersal across Africa

Plans to create a huge commercial farm next to a national park in Zambia could have a “catastrophic” impact on wildlife, conservationists have warned, threatening vital habitat for bats undertaking the world’s biggest mammal migration.

Every October, about 10 million straw-coloured fruit bats descend on the evergreen swamps of Kasanka national park in central Zambia from across Africa, feasting on figs and fruit and berries in the surrounding area, and dispersing seeds across the continent in their epic journey. The park is home to 479 bird species and 114 mammals.