Experts Call on Negrenses to Help Preserve Rare Bat Species

BACOLOD CITY — Wildlife experts has issued a call to Negrenses urging them to help preserve and protect the world’s largest and heaviest flying fox that is found only at Mambukal Resort in Barangay Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental.

Lisa Paguntalan, wildlife biologist of the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc., said the bat species known as the Golden-crown flying fox needs to be preserved and protected to prevent their extinction.

In a media interview, Paguntalan also appealed to local and foreign tourists not to disturb the habitat of the bats by asking resort guides to shake trees in order to force the bats to fly.

“These disturbances caused stress among the bats that could even lead to mother bats losing their babies especially during their breeding months from February to August,” she pointed out.

“When bats are not disturbed, they go back to their roosting places and reproduce,” Paguntalan added.

The wildlife expert said they were happy to report that their campaign to protect the mammals in Mambukal Resort has started to pay off as regular monitoring has shown that the Golden-crowned flying fox population has risen from 84 to 360 in latest surveys.

Paguntalan likewise said that the protection of bats would also lead to healthy forests as sixty percent of forest trees are pollinated by bats.

Meanwhile, trees play an important role in wildlife protection as wildlife thrives on trees.

“Negrenses has to know, love, and own their biodiversity,” Paguntalan said. (PNA) CMR/NLG

Image Credit: pinoy-culture.com