Bats are essential allies

[L Roebuck]

Bats are essential allies, says ecologist

by Romy Sabaldan

Davao City (16 June) -- “They are also gentle friends and of vital ecological importance.”

Thus, said bat conservation expert Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, who describes himself as an ecologist, conservationist and wildlife photographer during the latest edition of the Kapihan sa PIA on Thursday, June 15, 2006.

Doctor Tuttle visited the Davao region for the first time was attracted by an estimated 1.8 million bats in Norma’s cave, referring to Norma Monfort’s bat cave in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS).

Not only that, Dr. Tuttle is also taking into serious consideration the need to conserve what many thought to be harmful but is actually one of man’s dearest friend as far as agriculture economy and ecological sustenance are concerned.

“Bat conservation in the Philippines is very important considering that you own 70 species of the total eleven hundred worldwide. That number is twice as much the number of species that we have in the United States”, added the Austin, Texas-based founder and president of Bat Conservation International.

Tuttle brought with him these messages in his beautiful bat magazine which contains a wealth of information regarding bats:

“We can no longer afford to neglect animals of vital ecological importance just because they don’t initially appeal to our emotions.”

“Without bats, the cycle of rain forest regeneration might fail; without rain forest, the stability of world climates and much more is threatened.”

“Many of the world’s most economically important plants rely on bats. Just one bat-dependent crop adds $120 million annually to economies in Southeast Asia.”

But bats need your help! For information, please write or call: Bat Conservation International. P.O. Box 162603,Austin, TX 78716 – 512-327-9721 (PIA)

Full Article: www.pia.gov.ph/news.asp?fi=p060616.htm&no=05

[Brian Roebuck]

Cool article Lynn! Merlin is branching out a bit! The Phillipines is a long ways out there from the US!

[L Roebuck]

Yes it seems Merlin is making the rounds outside the good ole' U.S.A. Here is another Press Release.


PIA Press Release
06/16/2006
Feature: Bats - most misunderstood and endangered wildlife

Davao City (16 June) -- Unknown to many, bats contribute a lot to the earth's resources both environmentally and economically but their numbers are declining because people harm them.

Ecologist and founder/president of Bat Conservation International (BCI) Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, PhD in a press conference at the Philippine Information Agency yesterday said bats are the most misunderstood and endangered wildlife that do a lot in helping farmers as well as maintain a balance ecosystem.

Tuttle together with biologist Dr. David L. Walden, PhD came to Davao upon the invitation of Norma Monfort, trustee of Monfort Bat Conservation Park in barangay Tambo, Island Garden of Samal to assess the condition of the bats nesting in the caves of the Monfort park.

Tuttle said bats are greatest pollinator of plants and the trees and forests highly depend on them for pollination and seed dispersal.

"Scientists around the world who served the BCI based in Houston, Texas starting in 1982 became concerned that bats essential to the balance of nature and human economies were in alarming decline", he said.

Tuttle said that even in the other six caves in Samal City which they also visited , they noted that based on the traces and marking in the caves there could be some 50,000 of them in each of the caves but now it is down to 1,000.

"There were traces inside the caves that bats were eaten by people," he said.

He noted the efforts done by the Monforts in preserving and protecting the cave which is now host to some 1.8 million bats.

While the bats in the caves are the main attraction of the Monfort park to tourists, Tuttle cautioned Monfort to assign one who could oversee the activities inside the cave to ensure that the bats are not harmed.

"People must observe silence inorder not to disturbed them otherwise the will not longer trust people and they will leave," he said.

He said there are so many erroneous information attributed to the bats and educating people about the mammal is the only way to protect them from extinction.

Tuttle said that out of the 1100 kinds of bats in the world, 70 species are found in the Philippines.

He said two of the largest bats in the world with wings that span to six feet are found in the Malagos watershed in Calinan, Davao City, namely Aceradon jubatus and Pterapus vampyrous or commonly known as the flying fox.

He also confirmed that there are vampire bats that drink blood from open cuts and are found in Mexico and North American but none of these species are found in the Philippines.

Tuttle also said that bats play an important role in the pollination of durian flowers. He explained that farmers in Thailand blamed bats for the many flowers that fall off to the ground yet if they will analyze it, a stem cannot hold 30 flowers especially if all of them became full grown fruits.

He also said that in San Antonio, Texas can be found the largest bat population with 20 million and they consume about 200 metric tons of insects that attack crops and these save them millions of dollars.

There are still a lot of efforts to be done to preserve these mammals and the BCI is building funds for its conservation program where a big part of it goes to the Philippines.

He said they are sponsoring scholars and of the five biologists that they support four are from the Philippines. It also funds conservation, education and research that helps bats and the ecosystem.

"What is good in the Philippines is that one can see the bats up close and a perfect place to learn bats," he said.

Monfort meanwhile said that they would be working on establishing a bat research and education center.

"We are asking the government to help reestablish the caves in Mindanao where the need is great and we are willing to partner with the concerned agencies to help these mammals which help the people and the environment," she said. (PIA/pdbanzon)

www.pia.gov.ph/news.asp?fi=p060616.htm&no=03

[L Roebuck]

PIA Press Release
06/17/2006

Bats eyed as moneymakers

Davao City (17 June) -- There is money in bat manure (guano) said Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, founder/president of Bat Conservation International (BCI).

But money will stop coming when the bats are no longer there to produce the fertilizer derived from guano said Tuttle in an interview.

He said it is sad to note that people harvesting the bats manure have to bring in nets to catch them and bring them out of the caves so the harvester can gather the manure that are deposited at the flooring.

“People harvesting the manure must take caution because they should not in any instance be frightened but the worst case is when people destroy them,” he said.

Tuttle even recommended that in the gathering of the guano fertilizer has to be done in consultation with a bat biologist.

In a magazine “Bats: Gentle Friends Gentle Allies” that he distributed to the Davao media, it explained the importance of bats to humans and the need for bat conservation.

It said that bats affect human lives in more ways that they realize.

It also said that new species of bacteria discovered in American bat caves are now being studied by major corporations for use in chemical waste detoxification, gasohol production, and improved detergents and others may soon be used in the production of new antibiotics.

But if a colony of cave-dwelling bats is lost, the potential benefits of countless microorganisms and other animals perish with them.

Tuttle pointed out that bats are in a serious decline and some species are already extinct.

He said bats deserve protection because they are essential allies in nature’s delicate system of checks and balances and many other bats and the environments they serve can still be saved. (PIA/pdbanzon)


www.pia.gov.ph/news.asp?fi=p060617.htm&no=09