Flying fox ‘being hunted to brink of extinction’
Flying foxes could be extinct as early as 2015 without concerted international efforts to bring the hunting of the world’s largest fruit bat under control, scientists have warned.
By attaching satellite transmitters to the creatures, a team of researchers led by Jonathan Epstein of the UK-based Wildlife Trust, studied the migratory patterns of hundreds of the bats from 33 roost sites in Malaysia and discovered that the animals were travelling as far as Thailand and Indonesia.
Hunting fruit bats for food, medicine and sport is common in Southeast Asia, but the population – currently estimated optimistically at around 500,000 – is crucial to the health of the region’s rainforests because the bats are important seed dispersers and pollinators.
The researchers said that around 22,000 flying foxes are legally hunted each year in Malaysia, with many more killed illegally. Hunting is banned in Thailand but unregulated in Indonesia.
Epstein said the population of Malaysian flying foxes could soon be decimated and warned that any additional pressures on the population in Thailand or Indonesia could put the entire species at risk.
According to computer model estimates, current rates of legal hunting alone could push the flying fox into extinction in the next six to 81 years.
“Now that we know that these bats migrate between Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, coordinated assessments of their status throughout their range will be important for developing effective management strategies,” Epstein said
“Any additional hunting pressure on this species that occurs in Thailand or Indonesia may hasten the population’s decline.”
Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks, which regulates hunting in the country, is currently considering a recommendation made by Epstein and his colleagues for a temporary ban on bat hunting.
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