Due to the efforts of conservation groups, the Pemba flying fox, a type of giant fruit bat with a wingspan of over 5 ½ feet long, has been saved from the brink of extinction. The story of the bats remarkable comeback is, according to conservationists, a true success story.
As recently as 1989, only a handful of bats could be found on Pemba, a tropical island off the coast of Tanzania. The decline in the bat population was due to several factors: hunting, low birth rate, and the destruction of the bat's forest habitat.
In the 1990's, the Department of Commercial Crops, Fruits and Forestry (DCCFF) and the Flora and Fauna Initiative (FFI) combined efforts to help increase the bat population. Two new forest reserves were set up to reduce hunting of the bats and preserve the bat's habitat. The groups also began an education campaign with the local residents about conservation and species preservation. In the 20 years since the 1989 research study, the bat population has dramatically increased to over 20,000 bats!
This unique bat, once considered an edible delicacy, is now a much loved symbol of the Pemba Island. Locals have created "Pemba Flying Fox Clubs" to help protect the bat that they once widely hunted and viewed as a food source. Flying fox bats are called such because of their fox like faces. Unlike other bat species which use echolocation to navigate, the flying fox bats use their vision and hearing.
It appears that the Pemba flying fox may also help the local economy as its numbers continue to increase. FFI (pdf) is hoping to promote their conservation success story and use that success to help the local economy by increasing eco-tourism in the area. FFI has helped to construct a visitor center on the island and has trained several tour guides from the community to staff the center. According to the FFI, this success story is a great example of how conservation, even in the most dire of situations, does work. It also reminds us that we are all interconnected; through their efforts to save the bat population, the locals have helped to improve their own lives, as well.
