Little Mariana Fruit Bat (Guam Flying-Fox)

 

Happy Halloween 2021!  

Bats are synonymous with Halloween. Many people suffer from "chiroptophobia", the fear of bats.  Bats are nocturnal. They are a flying mammal.  They do swoop through the air seemingly at random.  Bats use their echolocation, which can be an eerie noise to hear, but one bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes each night. 

Some bats don't stick to the usual bug diet.  They eat fruit.  In fact the the Little Mariana Fruit Bat was one of those fruit bat species.  There are at least 11 other species of bat that have also gone extinct.

Also known as the Guam Flying-Fox, this fruit bat was first discovered in 1931.  It would often mix itself among the larger Marianas flying-fox.

The last Little Mariana Fruit Bat was a female found at Tarague Cliff in March of 1967.  A young flying-fox flew away but was never seen again.

Guam's history has played a role in the extinction of its species.  It was occupied by Chamorros. Then Magellan landed on Guam on his fatal round the world journey.  Thus it was claimed by Spain.  Later The United States claimed it as a U.S. territory.  During WW II, the Japanese occupied Guam and renamed it Omiya Jima.  After 3 years, the U.S. reclaimed Guam, and it's still a U.S. territory, like Washington D.C. or the Virgin Islands today.  

Because of this, Guam has experienced myriads of extinctions.  Though the cultural clashes did affect species in Guam, it was the introduction of the brown tree snake has led to the extinction of 9 of 11 bird species as well as many native lizard species.  This invasive species did well on Guam, so well that portions of the island that used to be filled with birds singing, are now eerily silent.  In fact in June of 2020, the U.S. funded $3.4 million, to remove the brown tree snakes from Guam.

How do snakes with cat-like eyes and quiet, birdless forests have anything to do with fruit bats?  Actually, quite a bit.  Without Guam's birds pollinating the fruit trees, the fruit bats have less to eat.  With less fruit to eat, there are less fruit bats to eat the fruit and distribute the seeds via its poop.

Additional Resources

* https://www.fws.gov/refuge/guam/wildlife_and_habitat/mariana_fruit_bat.html

* https://www.guampedia.com/fanihi-mariana-fruit-bat/

* https://www.12images.net/endangered-and-extinct-animals/the-little-mariana-fruit-bat/

* VIDEO - Caring for other fruit bats = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuvaos1WHTk

* VIDEO - Info on Guam's fruit bats = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pny1LMWGWHM






Critically Endangered Guam Rail

Critically Endangered Guam Kingfisher

Picture from "A Gap in Nature"










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