14
T
Daloy Kayumanggi
Environment
Impormasyon ng Pilipino
The World of Bats
his ar ticle was w r i t t e n i n celebration of the “The Year of the Bat” that was initiated in 2011 until this year by The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) a n d T h e A g re e m e n t o n t h e Conservation of Populations of European Bats (EUROBATS). This initiative serves as an education campaign to increase our understanding about the important role of bats in maintaining healthy ecosystems as well as stable human economy. Bats live just about everywhere else in the world except in Antarctica considering that these are warm blooded animals and prefer to inhabit warm environments. They are the only mammals that perfected the ability to fly through a long evolutionary process. Bats are nocturnal animals, which means that they are only active at night and most often labeled as “masters of our night skies”. Such lifestyle made this animal difficult to observe that adds up to their mysterious disposition making them one the most misunderstood and severely underestimated animals in the planet. It is estimated that there are more than 1,000 species of bats that is remarkably diverse the fact that they represent almost a quarter of all mammals in the planet. However, despite their wide distribution and r e m a r k a b l e d i v e r s i t y, i t s population continues to decline and a handful of species already find their way into the endangered species list. Moreover, the destruction of the forest as well as the use of pesticides on crops also contributed a huge deal in the continued decline in bat population around the world.
The Life of Bats Bats, just like any mammals, are “warm-blooded” animals with bodies covered with fur, and nurse their young (also called pups) with milk. They can be as large as the flying foxes with wingspan of up to 2 meters and weigh 1.5 kilograms and as small as a the bumblebee bat with weight of only 2 grams. Bats may roost in trees, caves, buildings, or any structure that
By Joeppette Hermosilla
Yoyogi Park
The Giant golden-crowned flying fox is the largest known species of bat in the world. It inhabits the Philippine islands of Bohol, Boracay, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros and Polillo. Preferring to stay almost exclusively in untouched areas of forest, human intrusion into the rainforest, as well as poaching has caused these magnificent giants to reach a population level low enough that extinction of the species is feared. (Source: http://www.factzoo.com/ mammals/giant-golden-crowned-flying-fox-fruit-worlds-largest-bat-endangered.html) provides an overhang. Their feet are designed so that when they attach themselves to a rock or branch, the toes and claws lock so they can’t fall even when they are asleep. They are social animals, often roosting together in large swarms such as the Mexican Free-tailed Bats of Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico with population in millions. The famous phrase “Blind as a bat” is in fact a misconception considering that most bats have inherent good vision and they use their eyes together with their excellent sense of smell to hunt their prey in the dark. Females usually give birth to only one offspring per year. They have a remarkably long life with an estimated life span of over 20 years. They are the only mammals that have the capacity of true flight utilizing their very thin skin (also called membrane) that stretches between their long finger bones of the arms, legs and tail to fly.
Myths that went too far Most people are quite familiar
The bumblebee bat is considered the smallest mammal in the world weighing just barely 2 grams, which is about the weight of a penny. (Source: http://koshersamurai.wordpress. com/2011/09/21/the-bumblebee-bat-aka-kittis-hog-nosed-bat/)
with the name Count Dracula who is the title character and the main antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel “Dracula” and an assortment of stories about vampires that repeatedly appeared in all manner of popular culture from films to animations. The character is generally portrayed as the undead with different supernatural abilities such as the ability to shape-shift from a human form into a bat that attacks humans and suck their blood. Such portrayal in famous pop culture media resulted to bats being a mythical creature with bad reputation and a symbol of mischief. These stories are indeed scary but what is even scarier than myths that went overb oa rd ma ski ng th e true reputation of the bats as being one of the most important players in maintaining balance in various forest ecosystems of the planet. These are the same myths that have put a number of bat species on the endangered species list. In the real world however, some species of vampire bats exist in Central and South America. However, they only drink animal blood and not human blood. They are quit small (less than 7cm to 9cm) and take approximately a tablespoon of blood each night. Interestingly, they live in colony with utmost care for those who cannot feed by regurgitating blood they have collected. On the other hand, species of bats classified under Megachiroptera commonly known as the "flying foxes" or fruitbats feed on fruits. Fruitbats are considered forest farmers as they help in regenerating the forest. When these bats eat fruits the seeds are not digested and have to pass through their digestive track and will eventually be defecated as they fly or when they are rested on a tree branch. The seeds are coated with natural fertilizers as they poop them out that will help them when they germinate into a new plant, which will eventually become the “lungs” of the planet. Nectar drinking bats can potentially pollinate plants. As
sundan sa pahina 15
The abundance of natural caves in Bohol, Philippines contributed to high diversity of bats in the said province (Photos by Joeppette Hermosilla).