Source : The Star, Malaysia, 05 June '05
By : Teoh Teik Hoong
  

Virtually unprotected, except in Sarawak, the Pteropus hypomelanus - the island species such as that found on Tioman Island, and the Pteropus vampyrus have disappeared from 40% of known nesting sites in the country.

The decline in their numbers, if left unchecked, would severely affect cash crops such as the durian, petai, rambutan and even langsat, as flying foxes are one of the main pollinators for these trees.

IN FLIGHT: Flying foxes hovering over a roosting tree in Sarawak. — Melvin Gumal/WCFpic

Flying foxes are both seed dispersers and pollinators of various species of tropical plants as they are known to travel up to 50km each night and can carry 200g of seeds – making them excellent seed dispersers.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Professor Dr Zubaid Akbar Mukhtar Ahmad said uncontrolled hunting and logging has caused the population of these species of bats to dwindle to a very critical level.

“The major threat is from loss of mangrove swamps and lowland forests, which are the main habitats for these bats,” he added.

“Unregulated hunting, especially with modern firearms and improved access to their roosts, is also taking its toll.”

Dr Zubaid said between 1990 and 1996 alone, an unrestricted number of hunting licences was issued, resulting in the culling of 56,000 flying foxes.

“This figure could be higher as people were likely to have caught more bats than their licences allowed for,” he said.

In Sarawak, the Pteropus vampyrus is protected under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1998, which prohibits any hunting. Those caught doing so face a maximum fine of RM 10,000 or one year in prison.

However, in peninsular Malaysia, licences to hunt these bats are issued under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, at only RM25 per licence.

Each licence allows the holder to hunt 25 bats.

In Muar, Johor, these are sold in the market at RM25 a piece.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak bat researcher Mohd Azlan Jayasilan, who carried out extensive work on flying foxes, said before they had access to shotguns, the orang asli used to fell trees near the bats' roost to hit the roosting tree, killing at least 10 to 15 bats at one time.

“These bats have a low reproduction rate, having only one offspring a year. The death of a single female may create a chain reaction leading to the demise of the species,” he said.