Threatened Species Factsheet No. 3 FIJIAN BLOSSOM BAT

What are they called? What do they look like? These bats are very distinctive. Scientific: They have elongated snouts and Notopteris macdonaldi a very long free tail. Unlike other Other English: fruit bats, their tail is not Pacific Blossum Bat, Long- attached to their wings, so it tailed Blossom Bat or Long- looks like a rat’s tail. The wings tailed Fruit Bat meet in the middle lower back giving that area a naked and French: wrinkled look. They are light Bislama: brown in colour. Their bodies are Vernacular (local name): about 10 cm in length. Misek misek (Tanna) Parat Ta Le Manar (Gaua)

A little bit about them: In they are found on Ambae, , , , , Gaua, , Malo, , Espirito Santo and Tanna. They roost in caves in large colonies and come out to feed in the forests or in Did you know? gardens. They eat flowers • They are only found in Fiji and and fruits and can travel to Vanuatu! different areas depending • Not very much is known about on what is flowering in where they are and where which season. they roost in Vanuatu. • Up to 2000 bats can be found in one roosting site! What do they do for us? Ø They pollinate many plants including food producing plants. Ø They disperse seeds. This can be important for reestablishing vegetation after disturbance such as cyclones. Ø As they fly they can cycle nutrients around the forest. Ø The guano can be used as a fertilizer. Ø Roosting sites could be tourist attractions. Source: www.naturefiji.org What can we do for them? Fijian Blossom Bats are Ø Identify roosting sites and protect them. classified as Vulnerable (VU) Ø Find out more about them – on the IUCN Red List. observe where they live, what they feed on and when they Why are they threatened? have their babies. Ø There are only a few known Ø Take pictures and record when you see them. roosting sites. Ø Report the sightings and Ø Disturbance at roosting observations to VESS or DEPC. Ø If people want to eat bats sites by people including they should hunt the pacific tourists or people collecting flying fox (also know as the guano. black flying fox) as it is not threatened with extinction Ø Loss of forests due to and not eat bats that are threatened including the Fiji clearing for agriculture, blossom bat. gardens and other development. Want to know more? Ø Hunted for food. Because v Read more on the book Mammals they roost in large numbers, of the South-West Pacific & the many bats can be killed Moluccan Islands by Tim Flannery. v Visit: www.iucnredlist.org when there Is a hunting v Nature Fiji: https://naturefiji.org/fiji- expedition. blossom-bat-notopteris- macdonaldi/