Fruit bats, like the Large Flying-fox (Pteropus vampyrus), play an important role in forest regeneration. They typically roost in large stationary colonies during the day, but move their night-time feeding grounds throughout the year, following the ripening of fruits. Most Old World fruit bats crush ripe fruits inside their mouths, swallowing the juice and spitting out a “pellet” of pulp. In this way, they are crucial for the dispersal of many tropical fruits, including ones that we, too, enjoy, like figs and mangoes. This particular bat species ranges from Thailand through the Philippines and most of Indonesia. While it is still common and widespread, its numbers have declined significantly (by around 25 percent) over the last decade, with especially large losses in peninsular Malaysia. In 2008, the IUCN listed the Large Flying-fox as “near threatened.” In many parts of its range, pressure from hunting for food apparently represents the main cause of this decline, showing these bats not resilient enough for current harvesting practices. Temporary hunting bans may be the best answer in some regions, along with the protection of important roosting sites.
|
