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The study of rock-dwelling fauna continues to yield essential insights into local biodiversity. Recent monitoring efforts have centered on maternity colonies within the Furceni mine while expanding for the first time to abandoned mines near the village of Morovaia, close to Orheiul Vechi. These findings underscore the critical role that subterranean habitats play in sustaining protected bat populations. The research was conducted as part of the project "Protection of Rare Fauna Species and Regulation of Tourism in the Rocky Habitats of the Orheiul Vechi Cultural-Natural Reserve". 

Furceni Mines

Over the summer, fieldwork at the Furceni mines homed in on a maternity colony of lesser horseshoe bats numbering around 700 expectant females.

Listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Moldova, the lesser Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) is the genus's tiniest representative, tipping the scales at just 3 to 9 grams. This cave-dwelling mammal relies on subterranean hideouts for both hibernation and breeding. While scattered across the country's wooded areas, it thrives in higher numbers along the rocky river valleys of the Dniester, Prut, and their tributaries. After mating in the autumn, females split off from the males to form dedicated maternity colonies through pregnancy, birth, and nursing, eventually producing a single pup. Hibernation runs from November through March. Their menu features a steady diet of flies, moths, small beetles, and the occasional spider.