Critically Endangered Bat Returns from Near Extinction
A giant bat, previously listed as critcally endangered on the IUCN Red List, has made a comeback from almost certain extinction in the tropical island of Zanzibar Tanzania.
The Pemba flying fox (Pteropus voeltzkowi) was first listed on the Red List as Endangered in 1990. Then in 1996, it was upgraded to Critically Endangered.
Around that time Fauna & Flora International (FFI), in partnership with Department of Commercial Crops, Fruits and Forestry (DCCFF), began a program to save the Pemba flying fox from extinction. Their program included an extensive education campaign, establishment of environmental clubs to protect roosts close to villages, meetings with hunters and key decision makers, and ongoing monitoring of the bat population.
The latest survey, initiated by FFI and carried out by Janine Robinson for the University of East Anglia, has found that there are now at least 22,000 Pemba flying foxes, but there could be as many as 35,600.
As a result of the conservation program, the bat is no longer hunted down. In fact, many locals are joining community-led groups in an effort to help save the Pemba flying fox.
The giant fruit bat, which has a wing span of up to 5.5 feet, was once considered a delicacy. As a result, it was almost hunted to extinction. Traditionally, the Pemba flying fox was hunted using simple traps on long sticks. More recently though, shotguns were being used to kill the bats.
Because of the rising population of the Pemba flying fox, in 2004 it was downgraded to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. And now that the population is thriving once again, FFI have now closed the project “confident in the dedication of the Forestry Department and local communities to protect this charismatic species”.
Tags: africa, Conservation, endangered species, extinction, IUCN, red list, threatened species
February 20th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
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