Greater horseshoe bats living in Kent after absence of 115 years

Climatic change may be behind expanded range of very rare native mammal of British Isles

One of Britain's and northern Europe's rarest and most elusive mammals has been discovered living in the east of England for the first time in 115 years.

The return to Kent of the greater horseshoe bat has delighted and astounded conservationists, who are now examining whether climate change is shifting the species' range. The bat is normally found only in Wales and the west of England.