Between 250,000 and half a million bats have disappeared from the Gato Jíbaro cave in the Cuban province of Matanzas, east of Havana, threatening area plant life, warn specialists. “It is a major catastrophe. In the best case scenario, the animals migrated. Worst case — they died,” Ercilio Vento, president of the Cuban Speleological Society, told Tierramerica.

A key part of the ecological balance, the flying mammals consume insects, pollinate plants and disseminate seeds.

The bats were forced out by cockroaches that began invading the cave 10 years ago, attracted by waste discarded by a nearby food factory. A clean-up of the waste failed to dislodge the insects.

Cuba is home to 27 of the world’s approximately 2,000 bat species.