Batting for Bats

Members of the Philippine Daily Inquirer Read-Along team recently visited NFEFI's Center in Bacolod City. Pictured are NFEFI trustee Robert Harland (left), Bro. Jaazeal 'Tagoy' Jakosalem of the University of Negros Occidental Recoletos (second left) and NFEFI curator, Dr. Joanne Justo (second from right) and team members (l-r) Rich Rodriguez; Ethel Ray Escasinas, Edra Benedicto, Ruth Navarra and Minerva Generalao

Bacolod college students had a close encounter at the weekend with the world
of bats at a special Bat Workshop organized by the Negros Forests and Ecological
Foundation, Inc (NFEFI) and the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation
Foundation, Inc (PBCFI).

WNU student Noel Gayanilo displays a short-nosed fruit bat
(Cynopterus brachyotis)

The workshop, the last activity in this year's Negros Wildlife Month, was
designed to increase awareness and enhance the bat research capacity of West
Negros University, the University of St. La Salle and Philippine Science High
School - all academic institutions which offer biology or natural sciences
courses.

USLS student, Julius Juen displays a short-nosed fruit bat
(Cynopterus brachyotis)

"Very few people are familiar with bats - indeed many fear them because of
their scary appearance plus the many misconceptions associated with various
dangers and fears of darkness, and with the centuries of myths such as Dracula
and Halloween," said NFEFI curator Dr. Joanne Justo.

"This makes them among the least studied of mammals. But, in reality they are
wonderful flying machines which make an important contribution to ecosystems by
dispersing seeds, helping forest regeneration and controlling insect
populations. They can eat up to one third their weight in mosquitoes each
night."

PBCFI field research officer, Rai Gomez, untangles a short-nosed
fruit bat (Cynopterus brachyotis) from mist nets

During the workshop, held on Saturday at NFEFI's Center by the Provincial
Lagoon in Bacolod City and on Sunday at Mambukal Resort, participants enjoyed
lectures on the importance of bats as a species plus hands-on activities such as
research methods; setting up mist nets; bat identification; bat count, flying
fox monitoring and importantly, conceptualizing their own research questions.

"Not only did the workshop increase awareness of the significant role played
by bats, it also provided a valuable platform for students to learn about
research and field techniques in bat study," said NFEFI's Mimie Ledesma.

Third year BS Biology USLS student, Julius Juen, said the workshop had been a
real eye opener. "I've completely changed my views on bats. I hadn't realized
just how important they are to the environment."

After study, all bats were released.