If left undisturbed from poaching, the species is rather comfortable near populated areas.
Though these bats are generally harmless, it is possible for them to carry and transmit diseases to humans. However, if left alone, it’s highly unlikely that bat to human infection would occur.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the giant golden-crowned flying fox as endangered in 2016 after the animal’s population declined by a whopping 50 percent from 1986 to 2016.
Sadly, hunting it for bushmeat continues to drive the golden-crowned flying fox population down. Even more troubling, the hunting practice itself is rather ineffective. Hunters shoot these animals out of their roosts, wounding more of them than necessary, as many who are killed don’t even fall from the trees.
As such, a poacher might kill up to 30 bats merely to recover 10. While terribly inhumane, poverty and desperation for food drive this practice. Deforestation, meanwhile, has seen the animal virtually disappear from the islands of Panay and Cebu.
While the species is protected by the 2001 Philippine Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, this law isn’t too stringently enforced. As such, the fact that the majority of the animal’s roosts are inside of protected areas doesn’t matter — as illegal hunting simply continues as usual.
Comments
0 comment