Diversity 2018, 10(3), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/d10030102
Roost of Gray Flying Foxes (Pteropus griseus) in Indonesia and Records of a New Hunting Threat
Sheherazade 1 and Susan M. Tsang 2,3,*
1
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32603, USA
2
Department of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
3
Zoology Division, National Museum of the Philippines, Padre Burgos Ave, Ermita, Metro Manila 1000, Philippines
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 1 April 2018 / Revised: 13 September 2018 / Accepted: 14 September 2018 / Published: 17 September 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversity and Conservation of Bats)
Abstract
Pteropus griseus (gray flying fox) is a species of Old World fruit bat that is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Data Deficient. The species is found on small islands in the Lesser Sundas and Sulawesi, and is endemic to Indonesia, but no contemporary roosts are known, and the last study of the species was in Timor in the Lesser Sundas. In this study, we describe the first known day roost in Sulawesi for Pteropus griseus and collected anecdotal evidence regarding conservation threats to the colony. We compared data from flying foxes collected from this roost to other P. griseus specimens and those of closely related co-occurring species to confirm its identity. We confirmed that this roost is likely of Pteropus griseus, though the subspecies identity remains to be determined. However, it is newly threatened by middlemen traders of bat meat from North Sulawesi arriving to encourage local villagers near the roost to hunt the bats. Elevated levels of hunting may deplete the entire colony in a single season should no conservation action be taken to safeguard the roost. View Full-TextKeywords:
conservation; flying fox; Pteropodidae; roosting ecology; Sulawesi
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Sheherazade; Tsang, S.M. Roost of Gray Flying Foxes (Pteropus griseus) in Indonesia and Records of a New Hunting Threat. Diversity 2018, 10, 102.
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