Dr Kieran O'Malley
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kezomalley.bsky.social
Dr Kieran O'Malley
@kezomalley.bsky.social
Research Manager at African Bat Conservation @africanbatcon.bsky.social | PhD on barbastelle bats 🦇 | Bat Conservation Trust Vincent Weir Award winner 🏆 | Caver, climber, kayaker, mountain biker

https://www.instagram.com/k.d.omalley/
Here is a very cool piebald Ethiopian epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus labiatus) that we caught last month in Lilongwe, Malawi! 🦇

Piebaldism is a rare genetic condition caused by the absence of melonocytes in certain patches of skin and fur.

#bats #research #fieldwork #malawi #wildlife
July 17, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Anyone have any thoughts what the cause of this baldness could be in this Angolan free-tailed bat? Caught just now in Kuti Wildlife Reserve, Malawi!

#bats #Malawi #fieldwork #africa #nature #wildlife
July 2, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Here’s a striking large-eared free-tailed bat (Otomops martiensseni) from Ntchisi Forest Reserve, one of Malawi’s last rainforests 🌳

This was the first record of this species in Malawi for @africanbatcon.bsky.social 🦇🎉

#bats #ntchisi #Malawi #conservation #fieldwork #rainforest
June 24, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Many years later, I finally got a good slow-mo of a bat release—helped by the fact it was a big slow bat: the Wahlberg’s epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi), caught near the tea plantations of Mount Mulanje🦇⛰️☕️

#bats #Malawi #mulanje #mountmulanje #fieldwork #nature #wildlife #conservation
May 12, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Whilst we try not to catch birds whilst mist netting for bats, this nightjar was certainly a nice surprise! Caught at Kumbali Game Reserve just outside Lilongwe, Malawi 🇲🇼 🐦‍⬛

#nightjar #birds #bats #nature #fieldwork #lilongwe #malawi #wildlife
March 25, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Last month, my team at @africanbatcon.bsky.social did some research at Kuti Wildlife Reserve. Whilst there, we were joined by a few guests — free-tailed bat pups! 🦇

The pups had fallen from their roost, but we managed to reunite them with their mothers after some care

#Bats #Conservation #Wildlife
March 12, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Two for one! We knew from radiotracking that there were a few lions in the area, but it was a nice surprise to have them join us while we watched the cheetah. A worthwhile weekend escape with @leastracq.bsky.social to Liwonde National Park! 🦁🐆

#Wildlife #LiwondeNationalPark #Lions #Cheetah #Malawi
March 9, 2025 at 12:38 PM
I found this beautiful stray dog last night. I wonder what breed it is? 🤔

#Malawi #Africa #Cute #Scorpion #Nature #Widlife #KutiWildifeReserve
February 13, 2025 at 4:06 PM
POV: You get distracted by some bats in a tree for just a moment… and a monkey steals your dinner 🐒🌳

#WildlifeEncounters #MonkeyBusiness #VervetMonkey #Monkey #Malawi #KutiWildlifeReserve
February 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Myself and the @africanbatcon.bsky.social team have escaped the city for some fieldwork at Kuti Wildlife Reserve, helping a student investigate how lighting affects bat behaviour! 🦇🌿

We started the day with a few zebras for company at breakfast! 🦓☕

#Fieldwork #WildlifeConservation #Bats #Malawi
February 5, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Bat survey with a local bar is always a nice bonus 🦇

...and of course, the hundreds of free-tailed bats we had emerging was quite nice too

#bats #lilongwe #Malawi #survey #roost #nature
January 28, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Straw-coloured fruit bats emerging at dusk! 🦇

My team at @africanbatcon.bsky.social and Land & Lake Safaris hosted a bat walk in Lilongwe on Friday, where we were joined by around 80 people. Great to see so much interest in bats!

#conservation #bats #nature #lilongwe #malawi #fruitbats #wildlife
January 22, 2025 at 5:04 PM
It was nice to spend a few weeks away from Malawi and back to the UK for some miserable weather. New Years in the Lake District was particularly wet and windy, but otherwise fun 🌬🌧⛰️

#lakedistrict #outdoors #hiking #nature #lakes #mountains #lakewindermere #coniston #pikeofblisco
January 20, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Revisited Nkhoma mountain for some bouldering last weekend. Very fortunate to have this amazing spot just a short drive from Lilongwe! 🧗‍♂️⛰️

@leastracq.bsky.social #bouldrering #climbing #mountains #nkhoma #Malawi #outdoors #nature #adventure
December 16, 2024 at 8:06 AM
One of the few free-tailed bats we caught last night with @africanbatcon.bsky.social 🦇

This one's most likely the white-bellied (Mops niveiventer) or the Angolan (Mops condylurus) free-tailed bat.

#Bats #Conservation #Surveys #Lilongwe #Malawi
December 10, 2024 at 11:56 AM
Attending the Mayor of Lilongwe's Ball on behalf of African Bat Conservation definitely wasn’t on my bingo card for this year! 💃🕺

(For context: I was a broke unemployed PhD graduate living in the UK back in January 😂)

#Lilongwe #Malawi #CinderellaStory #Ball #Bats #Mayor #Conservation #LifeGoals
December 1, 2024 at 12:12 PM
Spot the bat! 🦇

This straw-coloured fruit bat mother and its pup had fallen from a tree and were struggling to get back to it so they could climb to safety. Fortunately, our team at African Bat Conservation were nearby to give it a helping hand 👐

#Bats #Fruitbats #Lilongwe #Malawi #Baby #Nature
November 28, 2024 at 10:58 AM
Straw-coloured fruit bats in Lilongwe, Malawi! 🦇

These mammals have the largest mammal migration on Earth! Every year, around 10 million of them gather in Kasanka National Park, Zambia—covering an area the size of just 3 football pitches 🌍

#Wildlife #FruitBats #Bats #Conservation #Lilongwe #Nature
November 27, 2024 at 2:31 PM
Well, I've never seen this before! 🕷️🦎

I believe this is a wolf spider but I'm happy to be corrected.

#spider #wolfspider #dinner #hunting #hunted #nature #wildlife #malawi #predator #prey #reptiles #lilongwe
October 25, 2024 at 11:59 AM
Visited Thumbi West Island on lake Malawi for sunset, and had a few African fish eagles to keep us company🦅

#fisheagle #eagle #nature #malawi #wildlife #outdoors #lakemalawi #lake #island #capemaclear
October 19, 2024 at 9:33 AM
There is lots of potential for climbing in Malawi, most of which is still being explored. So it was great to visit Nkhoma mountain on the weekend and tackle a few unclimbed boulders for the first time! 🧗⛰️

#nkhoma #nkhomamountain #bouldering #climbing #outdoors #nature #malawi
October 10, 2024 at 2:39 PM
September 30, 2024 at 1:15 PM
September 26, 2024 at 11:36 AM
Hopped over the border to Zambia for the weekend to visit South Luangwa National Park. There was definitely no shortage of leopard sightings! 🐆

#southluangwa #zambia #leopard #wildlife #nature #bigcats #safari #predator #africawildlife #nationalpark #southluangwanationalpark
September 23, 2024 at 8:27 AM
Ethiopian epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus labiatus) caught in my garden last night in Lilongwe, Malawi 🦇

#bats #fruitbats #lilongwe #survey #batsurvey #wildlife #conservation #malawi #africa
September 7, 2024 at 9:47 AM