# Roost Disturbance and Predation: Agama Lizard (Agama sp.) Preying on Slit‐Faced Bats (Nycteris sp.) in Zakouma National Park, Chad

## TL;DR

Scientists observed a lizard preying on bats in Chad, likely due to human and animal disturbances, showing how shared human-modified environments can create new predator-prey relationships.

## Contribution

First documented case of an agama lizard preying on slit-faced bats in a human-modified Sudano-Sahelian ecosystem.

## Key findings

- Agama lizards successfully preyed on slit-faced bats after the bats were displaced by baboons.
- The predation occurred in a human-modified environment during the dry season, increasing bat vulnerability.
- The interaction suggests synanthropy and seasonal changes can drive novel ecological relationships.

## Abstract

Predation plays a key role in shaping ecological interactions, particularly in environments where seasonal dynamics drive adaptive behaviors. In semi‐arid Sudano‐Sahelian ecosystems, where resource availability fluctuates significantly, predator–prey interactions are influenced by both natural and anthropogenic pressures. This study documented the first recorded instance of an agama lizard (Agama sp.) preying on a slit‐faced bat (Nycteris sp.) in Zakouma National Park, Chad. The event occurred in March 2024, during the dry season, after a colony of Nycteris bats was displaced from a hut roost by olive baboons (
Papio anubis
), forcing them to relocate to a more exposed building. The bats' increased visibility and reduced cover likely increased their vulnerability to predation by the agama, a diurnal opportunistic predator commonly found around human settlements. Over four recorded consecutive predation attempts, the agama displayed behaviors including biting and dragging bats, until it finally captured one. All three species involved (Agama sp., Nycteris sp. and
P. anubis
) are synanthropic, and their shared use of human‐modified environments may have facilitated this interaction. This observation underscore the ecological flexibility of agama lizards and highlight how synanthropy can drive novel predator–prey dynamics. Our findings contribute to a growing body of evidence of reptilian predation on bats and emphasize the importance of understanding food web dynamics in increasingly altered African savannah ecosystems.

We report the first documented case of an agama lizard (Agama sp.) preying on slit‐faced bats (Nycteris sp.). This rare observation occurred during the dry season in Zakouma National Park, Chad, and may have been triggered by the displacement of bats from their roost by olive baboons (
Papio anubis
). This interaction highlights how synanthropy and seasonal dynamics can drive novel predator–prey relationships in human‐modified Sudano‐Sahelian ecosystems. It also raises questions about whether bats serve as opportunistic prey or a regular component of Agama diets in these environments, underscoring the need for further research to better understand trophic dynamics in these understudied systems.