Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox

Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Genus: Acerodon
Species: A. jubatus
Binomial name
Acerodon jubatus
(Eschscholtz, 1831)
Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox range
(green — extant, orange — possibly extirpated, black — extirpated)

The Giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), also known as the Golden-capped fruit bat, is a rare megabat[2] and considered the largest known bat in the world. The species is endangered and is currently facing the possibility of extinction because of poaching and forest destruction. They are endemic to the rainforests of the Philippines.

Contents

Description

The Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox gets its species name from the golden fur around the head, in sharp contrast to the black body. Like all other fruit bats, they have no tail. They are large bats, with a wingspan average of 1.5 meters (5 ft) and weighing up to 1.2 kg (2.6 lb), though the Large Flying Fox has a greater wingspan.

Range

Recent surveys have found A. jubatus roosting with P. vampyrus on the islands of Bohol, Boracay, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros and Polillo.[1]

Habitat

The Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox is confined to the rainforests of the Philippines, where it occurs mostly at elevations from sea level to 1100 m.[1] Acerodon jubatus prefer uninhabited areas. A 2005 study found none in inhabited areas.[3] The same study also revealed that these bats use river corridors more than originally thought, because the fig trees located near rivers are the bats' main source of food. Mildenstein also states that they do like to be close to agricultural fields but only in undisturbed forest areas. In another study Stier shows that this species is a forest obligate species, staying in the forest a majority of the time. Since this is a forest obligate species, conservation will require the preservation of forest areas. Human encroachment on the bat's habitat in forest and lowland areas is a major factor in the species endangered conservation status.[4]

Behavior

The Giant Golden-Crowned Flying fox is primarily nocturnal, and can travel at least 40 km (25 mi) in one night searching for food. This bat is a pollinator and seed disperser for many fruit trees in the Philippines. It uses water for grooming.[3]

Diet

They eat primarily figs, though will take other fruit if figs are unavailable. They have been reported to eat cultivated fruit, but this is relatively rare. Other fruits that may be eaten include: puhutan, lamio, tangisang, bayawak, bankal and strangler figs.[5] Known as "The Silent Planter", they release seeds in their droppings, often while flying. This helps maintain the Philippine rainforest.

Reproduction

Little is known about their reproduction. They appear to have two breeding seasons, but females only become pregnant during one of them. They typically give birth to only one pup. Females reach sexual maturity at two years.

Colonies

When fruit bats were abundant in the Philippines, the Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox and the Large Flying fox would make colonies together along with Malayan Flying Foxes (Pteropus vampyrus),[6] reportedly numbering over 150,000 individuals. It is this roosting behavior that made them so easy to hunt, but also helps them keep warm and avoid predators.[7]

Conservation

The Giant Golden Crowned Flying-fox is under threat from deforestation and has completely disappeared from many smaller islands and some larger islands, such as Panay and most of Cebu. They are also commercially hunted for meat in some areas.

Little is known about this species which makes it hard to manage, but since it is in decline conservation attempts are underway. The local government of Maitum, Sarangani in the Philippines has organized a campaign to save the species from extinction. The Subic Bay region of the Philippines plays host to a lot of the research on this species. Subic Bay is a 14,000-acre (57 km2) protection area that is managed by individuals who want to preserve the species.

Agencies promoting the conservation of this species include Bat Conservation International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the World Wildlife fund, Lubee Foundation and others.[3] They provide research funding and education worldwide as well as locally.

The IUCN states that there is currently a captive breeding program underway.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Mildenstein, T., Cariño,A., Paul, S., Heaney, L., Alviola, P., Duya, A., Stier, S., Pedregosa, S., Lorica, R., Ingle, N., Balete, D., Garcia, J.J., Gonzalez, J.C., Ong, P., Rosell-Ambal, G. & Tabaranza, B. (2008). Acerodon jubatus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 13 January 2009.
  2. ^ Simmons, Nancy B. (16 November 2005). "Order Chiroptera (pp. 312-529)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). p. 314. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=13800006. 
  3. ^ a b c d Mildenstein, Tammy.; Stier, S; Nuevodiego, C; Mills, L (2005a). "Habitat selection of endangered and endemic large flying-foxes in Subic Bay, Philippines". Biological Conservation 126: 93–102. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.05.001. 
  4. ^ Stier, Sam.; Mildenstein, Tammy L. (2005). "Dietary habitat of the world's largest bats: the Philippine flying foxes, Acerodon jubatus and Pteropus vampyrus lanensis". Journal of Mammalogy 86 (4): 719–728. doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2005)086[0719:DHOTWL]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1545-1542. 
  5. ^ Mickleburgh, S.P., Hutson, A.M., Racey, P.A. (1992). "Old World Fruit Bats: An Action Plan for their Conservation". IUCN. 
  6. ^ Rabor, D.S. (1986). Guide to Philippine Flora and Fauna. 
  7. ^ Macdonald, D.W. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Mammals.