Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat
- July 25, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat
Subject: Environment
Section: Biodiversity
Context: A recent study indicates that more than 50% of habitats suitable for 37 species of bats in the Southern Western Ghats lie outside protected areas.
Content:
- The study area was around 1,600 km of the Southern Western Ghats, encompassing biodiverse regions in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
- Six major biodiversity hotspots — Agasthyamalai, Periyar Tiger Reserve, Anaimalai, the Nilgiris, the Wayanad-Mudumalai complex and Brahmagiri — were part of the study area.
- According to the researchers, the Southern Western Ghats was home to rare and endangered bat species such as Salim Ali’s fruit bat (Latidenssalimalii) and the Pomona roundleaf bat (Hipposiderospomona).
- Only two species of bats had a distribution range that was significantly located in protected areas and the distribution ranges of 35 other species lay primarily outside protected areas.
- This had potentially increased the threats faced by the animals which include poaching for their meat, habitat loss (anthropogenic pressure from the plantations), use in traditional medicine(to cure Asthma) and stigma from local communities, especially after the Nipah Virus in KE andCOVID-19 pandemice., chances of contracting zoonotic diseases increase due to the presence of bats near the houses.
About Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat (Latidenssalimalii)
- One of the three rarest bats in the world and was named after Indian ornithologist Salim Ali in 1972.
- It is an evolutionarily distinct, monotypic, crepuscular and frugivorous bat species endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India.
- It is restricted to montane tropical evergreen forests, coffee and cardamom plantations with an altitude range of 800-1,100m.
- IUCN Status: Endangered
- It is one of the two species protected under India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. (The other species being Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat Otomopswroughtoni).
- Despite their important role as pollinators and seed dispersers in the ecosystem, fruit bats are categorized as ‘Vermin’ under Schedule V of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, which paves way for the indiscriminate killing of bats.
- Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) Project of the Endangered Salim Ali’s fruit bat in Western Ghats – aims to locate and protect the species in its distribution range, investigate the degree of species utilization by the local communities, and undertake conservation education and capacity building programmes to build knowledge on the importance of this species and the ecological services provided by bats in general.
Important role of BATS:
Their Significance –
- Seed dispersal – The diet of fruit-eating bats consists largely of flowers and fruits such as mangoes, bananas, guavas, custard apples, figs, tamarind and many species of forest trees.
- Pollination – Studies have found that bats play a vital role in pollination, mainly of large-flowered plants, and in crop protection.
- Production boost – Some large insectivorous bats are also reported to feed on small rodents.
- Soil fertility – Bat droppings provide organic input to soil and facilitate nutrient transfer, contributing to soil fertility and agricultural productivity.
- Health benefits – contribute to human health by reducing populations of mosquitoes and other insect vectors that spread malaria, dengue, chikungunya and other diseases