Save the fruit bats!
Josefa Muñoz, University of Guam biology major, Daniel McKay, UOG assistant professor, and Cacilie Craft, community volunteer, monitor Mariana fruit bats flying around the Tarague Basin on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on July 3. (U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Melissa B. White)
ANDERSEN AIR BASE, Guam—More than 100 volunteers gathered here on July 3 for the first large-scale monitoring of the threatened Mariana fruit bat.
The bats, which dwell on Guam and throughout the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, have fluctuated between threatened and endangered for the past several decades. While researchers are certain the Mariana fruit bat population has been in a steady decline since the beginning of observations, there was no accurate population count backed with strong scientific procedures and evidence until now.
“We have covered 100 times the survey size [with this amount of people] in one day compared to the surveys that have been done every month [by a single person] for the past 10 years,” said Tammy Mildenstein, Andersen AFB Fanihi Count Program principal investigator. “For Guam, or anywhere, bat surveys wouldn’t really be successful unless you do it in large groups at the same time.”
The Mariana fruit bat is commonly referred to by the Chamorro name of fanihi.
Mildenstein said this was the first time a bat survey has ever been done in this manner, partly due to the fact most bat species roost in colonies, making it easier to track them because they live together in one spot. Monitoring the Mariana fruit bat requires a different strategy. They used to be recorded on the base as a colony that lived together at Pati Point Preserve on the base. However, the decline throughout the years has minimized and dispersed the bats in Guam, which makes them more difficult to track since they fly solo and live in different areas. This species has become so rare and threatened as a result of poaching and illegal consumption, human disturbance, habitat loss, and the invasive brown tree snakes.
In order to find the sparsely spread bats, the base sought out volunteers from within the gates, but also throughout the local community and the University of Guam. With an original expectation of 35-40 volunteers, the 36th Civil Engineer Squadron Environmental Flight received more than 100 responses from across the island to support Andersen’s conservation effort.
“Everyone said we wouldn’t get enough volunteers, but the support we got shows people care about the future of the fanihi,” Mildenstein said. “I think it’s great that our pilot project is something never done before and that it brought these different institutions together that normally don’t have the opportunity to work together.”
The volunteers were assigned to 51 locations on the base and at Ritidian Point during the early morning hours in hopes to sight the mammals as they returned to their roosting spots for the daytime. All 51 locations were areas bat sightings have been positively recorded in the past.
Ruben Guieb, 36th CES Environmental Flight Natural and Cultural Resources Conservation Program chief, said he was pleased to hear of positive bat sightings on base that morning, but the official results of the survey will be released in August and that the plan is to repeat the survey in a similar manner annually.
While the survey only included Andersen property, Guieb said there’s a good argument that it would be the most probable place for the bats to live on the island, considering the habitat management units being built on base to protect the threatened species from invasive creatures along with healthy limestone forests. The base is also the location on Guam in closest proximity to Rota, an island nearly 40 miles to the northeast, where fishermen on boats between the two locations have witnessed bats making direct flight between the islands.
“The bat has cultural value to the people of Guam,” said Guieb. “And now, with this baseline survey using strong, quantitative science, we can track the trends of population to see if our programs are helping with the recovery of the species and minimize the impacts of the base missions on the environment.” (Melissa White)
This is good, lucky the creatures live on the base as it provides better protection from their number one predators, MAN.
Now what about the Caribou. There used to be so many roaming in the antenna fields.
Over the years the US military used to go out and just kill them using them for target practice then leaving the carcass. Occasionally they would allow some people to take the meat, not very often
This is an area that should be counted and some kind of “management” enacted to control the population while using them to benefit the local population.
Maybe have a hunting season.
Even to allowing the taking of live animals to be rounded up and taken to be fattened up and used for meat and the young animals to be raised for other uses.
Captain,
After the creation of the motion detector in our world, only the insane will risk the opportunities to hunt illegally at any military installations. Wait a minute technology had improve over the years, there are ways to counter the motion detectors anywhere in the world.
Our laws say you are innocent until proven guilty, well, well, how many individuals had gotten away from harvesting fruit bats.
Eating Fruit Bats in the Chamorro culture is the norm and who are you to stop us from consuming them is the question of the day?
Don’t give me this shit about “culture” I have been listening to this excuse for everything that people do not agree with or have the mental ability to understand reasons for certain restriction or laws, since I was a baby the while growing up into my adult life and still into my senior years..
There are less than 50 number of bats reported in the colony on Anderson,
.American Samoa used the same excuse, “Culture” and they are now endangered and illegal to Hunt.
On the main Island of Tutuwila their numbers years ago was less than 50.
In the Manua Islands (A. Samoa) still have some sightings years ago on the island of Olosenga (next to Ofu) as the population of villagers are smaller than Ofu and the village chiefs had stopped the taking of the bat years ago.
The Island of Ofu only occasionally have any bat sightings.
Western Samoa also had used this “Culture”and also, they finally put a ban on all taking of the bat as they are now near extinct,.
Same with Palau and Tonga.
Swains Island now has no sightings of any bats for years now.
Hawaii used the same “culture” in the past years ago and they are near extinction now and have been illegal to hunt.
There are only a few left on Maui, Kauai and in places on the Big Island in only double digit number of small colonies.
I have lived in these Islands mention through my long years of life and have listened to this “culture” crap and watched the demise over the years that I have been there in those islands and other Pacific Islands.
These bats also are also in pollination. People with your mindset are the ones that are the cause of many animals become extinct within our lifetime, and before.
These islander had the same mindset as you and others.
Once a certain species is extinct they are gone from the planet forever.
But people like you do not care and are content to only show the pictures to the kids as they grow up and talk about how tasty they were.
“These islander had the same mindset as you and others.”
Your are being judgmental of your opinion above. You can’t generalized the islanders as a whole, because each of us has different up bringing and ways of doing things. You should know me by now Captain, for you had seen me how I doesn’t conform within the so call norm of our society in Tinian.
You fish the ocean and you sold your fish around our community in Tinian and nobody bothers you that you were depleting the resources in our ocean. Is it because the law says that we can’t eat Fruit Bats?
My statement above came from what I heard from the day I can comprehend what our elders and society had to say about the Endanger Species Act.
Yes, you may say screw our culture, it doesn’t offend me but for others they may bend over backwards. You know how things work around in Tinian. You had stated in your other comments in MV, that Police officers and residents of Tinian had sold you MJ in the past. Does it mean that I sell drugs also, because I am from Tinian.
My reply to you above was to raised issues or implied that even elected officials had been incarcerated in the past relating to the Endanger Species Act. There are people out there in our community who have no disregard to our laws. And my question meant to repeat what I had heard within our society. You are right that majority of us have the same mind set, but the people who left the island chain and grew up in the United States or else where have different way of doing things than the ones that stayed behind. To tell you the truth, I had never consumed a fruit bat in my life. I just can’t stomach the creature.
I respect your opinion above, criticism creates critical thinking.
You read my reply to Jun on the bats.
And as for as the Caribou you should read my comment again and see if you are able to comprehend.
I did not say it was OK, I am complaining that the Military does such things.
I am surprised that you did not read the article about that in the PDN awhile back ( and other times by others) and the outrage from many of the people.
But then maybe you have a problem with reading comprehension.
Point being if the military is going to just massacre these animals due to the population they should give the opportunity to the people to do something with them.
Do you understand that?
@June, First in my response and the statement, “These Islanders had the same mindset as you and others” I was referring to the many Islands that I mentioned and have lived and work on referring to the general population from each that have decimated the bats and other animals. The populace as a whole, including my close friends. It was not meant to specifically single out any individual including you.
It was not meant to be detrimental, it was meant to be a fact as referring to the population in those individual Islands as a whole and comparison to your response to me.
It was the same excuse during the TT days until I was taken away to further my education elsewhere. (Not in the US mainland) Then it continued within other societies on anything that the society did not want to follow.
And just where does this supposed culture with the bat thing come from?
Just the same as the Chicken Fights being “cultural”? The chicken fights are from the Spanish, it is not Chamorro. And it is not Filipino or Malay, even though during the Spanish time they imported people from the Phil and Malay to replace the thousands that were decimated by the Spanish introduced diseases in these Islands. The Spanish brought the Chickens.
So where originally did the eating of the bats come from? Was it out of necessity or introduced as part of a celebration? by whom?
So if all of the non related Islands claim this to be culture when other places were not occupied by the Spanish, Germans or other of the same occupiers as the NMI, where did this “cultural” thing actually originate from?
Also I have never bought “pot” from anyone, I do not use it and never have. Revisit my statements as I have stated that the cops and other Govt. personnel come around selling to my friends if they see us siting around outside my house or at others house and have also stopped me (and others) on the roads to solicit it.
Most likely because of many of my friends and acquaintances that use it. They probably figure that I use it also. I tolerate it as I have to due to business. I do not smoke or drink and always stay upwind of those that do even the pot.
Another correction, you may have me mistaken for another as I have never went around selling fish on Tinian or anyplace else.
Anyway have a nice day. Peace.
I got your point. We appreciated your comments, for most of your comments were educational and we tend to look forward what you have to say. Especially when dealing with the VA in the CNMI, you had given many of us insights on how to go about dealing with them. Thanks about the info. relating to the VA Clinic in the Philippines and we may have other options when we make the move to the island chain.
Si Yu’us Ma’ase