Mariana Fruit Bat - Maggie Lai

Mariana Fruit Bat 

(Pteropus mariannus)

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Get to Know the Mariana Fruit Bat

The Mariana fruit bat, or Fahini, is considered a medium-sized bat. They range anywhere from 195-250 mm, with wingspans of 860-1065 mm. Generally the males are slightly larger than the females and they have dark brown wings and midsections with some occasional gray hairs mixed in. A really interesting characteristic of the Mariana fruit bat is that the sides of their necks are bright gold, a color scheme that is not very commonly seen in nature.

Behavior & Habitat

Mariana fruit bats generally are asleep for most of the day, but when they are awake they like to breed, fly, climb to other roost spots, and defend their roosting territories. They normally will leave for several hours around sunset to forage for food. Their diet consists of a spread of plant material, but their main form of sustenance is fruit. They tend to enjoy breadfruit, fadang, figs, papaya, and the flowers of coconut, gaogao, and kapok. They are located in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or CNMI. The males are often seen defending the females from other hostile male bats. This is essential to the survival of their population because the females only give birth to one pup annually. These bats generally have a lifespan of five to eight years.

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Geographic & Population Changes

Fahini typically live together in large colonies, anywhere from hundred to thousands of bats, and they like to roost in the canopy of large trees. They also like to colonize by the edges of cliffs, where there is very little human disturbance and protection from strong winds. If left undisturbed, they will return to the same place for many years. On the unfortunate chance that they are disturbed, they will migrate to areas that are difficult for people to reach such as the edge of cliffs or in mangroves. 

http://maps.iucnredlist.org/map.html?id=18737 

Listings

The Mariana fruit bat was first listed as an endangered species in 1990. By 1994, their population had increased and they were no longer listed as endangered, but instead as vulnerable. Unfortunately, by 1996, they were put back on the endangered species list.

Cause of Listings

A couple of threats to the Mariana fruit bat include the fact that it is considered a delicacy on Guam and the Marianas islands, the brown tree snake is a huge predator of the Fahini, and also deforestation. Additionally, the range of their habitat is also very limited and is located in areas that are highly susceptible to typhoons and volcanic eruptions. From 1970 to 1990, around 14,000 Fahini were imported every year from across the Pacific Ocean to be sold in Guam. During this twenty year period, an estimated 220,000 Fahini were killed, decimating a large portion of their entire species. In many places such as in Samoa and Palau, so many fruit bats were killed that their species could not rebound from it.

Recovery Plan

The recovery plan for the Mariana fruit bats are separated into several different steps. These steps include strengthening individual island subpopulations within an archipelago, effectively controlling unlawful hunting of the fruit bats on the archipelago, protecting habitats on which the Fahini live, and also controlling the distribution of brown tree snakes. It is important to strengthen individual island populations to protect against natural disasters such as typhoons and volcanic eruptions, both of which are very prevalent in the area. If all the bats were concentrated onto one island, one natural disaster could wipe them all out. Illegal hunting is one of the major threats to the Mariana fruit bats because of the cultural values of the bat as cuisine for the indigenous people. The recovery plan does not aim to eliminate hunting of the species forever, but instead just until the species recovers enough for them to be sustainably hunted. Finally, it is important to protect the Fahini's habitat and make sure that they are not living in a hostile environment, such as when brown tree snakes are prevalent.

What Can You Do?
There are several different steps you can take to help aid the recovery of the Mariana fruit bats. Some of these steps include educating your peers on the species and why they are important, encouraging your local government officials to uphold the legislation passed outlawing the illegal hunting of these bats, and also donating to the Guam National Wildlife Refuge, which provides a protected habitat for the remainder of the Mariana bat population on earth.

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Additional References

https://www.fws.gov/pacificislands/fauna/marianabat.html
http://www.guampedia.com/fanihi-mariana-fruit-bat/
https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/100330.pdf
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/18737/0
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pteropus_mariannus/