The colony of bats that disappeared after Mavrokolympos reservoir was drained, due to a leak after a discharge tunnel vent fault, is expected to return to its habitat after the dam is fixed, according to the Environment Department.

The protected fruit bats – Rousettus aegyptiacus – living in the dam’s tunnel had abandoned it after the fault.

In 2024 it was estimated that about 800 fruit bats were living there, philenews said.

The Environment Department said the bats easily adapted to alternative shelters and often moved to keep safe.

Bat detectors verified that no bats had been trapped in the tunnel and once the fault is repaired the colony is expected to return, the department added.

The Mavrokolympos reservoir has a capacity of 2.18 million cubic metres, diverted from the Mavrokolympos River. The dam was constructed in 1966 to serve banana plantations in and around the villages of Kissonerga and Peyia.