The world’s largest flying fox and the heaviest flying fox, also called the Golden-crown flying fox are among the bat species that are found in Mambukal Resort in Brgy. Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental.

Wildlife Biologist Lisa Paguntalan of the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. said the presence of these bats in the province calls for the citizens and the government to help protect and preserve these mammals before they become extinct.

She appealed to tourists and to the locals who ask resort guides to tap trees not to disturb the habitat of the bats or do similar acts for attraction purposes.

Paguntalan said these disturbances cause stress on them and during their breeding months which are from February to August, mother bats could lose their babies.

When bats are not disturbed, they go back to their roosting and populate, she said.

She said their campaign to protect the mammals in Mambukal Resort is paying off as regular monitoring showed the Golden-crowned flying fox population had risen from 84 to 360 as of their last count.

She also called for the protection of trees as wildlife thrives on areas below 1,000 meters. Higher than that level is a different environment unsuitable for their survival.

Sixty percent of trees in forests are pollinated by bats who transfer from one flower to another, and by defecation.

“No forest no wildlife,” she said.

She appealed to Negrenses to know, love and own their biodiversity. Visiting zoos like the Negros Forest Ecological Foundation Inc. in Bacolod City could be a first step in knowing one’s biodiversity, she said.*PIA

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