Fruit Bat

The main objective of this project is to better understand the behaviours of the Mauritius Fruit Bat in La Réunion in order to determine appropriate conservation measures.

Abstract:

Fruit producers in Mauritius accuse the Mauritius Fruit Bat of destroying crops, thus the species is rather feared by fruit producers in Reunion. The current population in Reunion, of around 100 individuals, is gathered in a single site and thus extremely vulnerable to any disturbance. The project is using GPS bio-loggers to track the movements of previously tagged individuals and combining this with in situ observations to determine the bats’ feeding behaviours. This information is shared with stakeholders in the local fruit sector and used to determine conservation measures adapted to the conservation of the species on the island. Various communication actions are implemented to disseminate the results of this project to a wide audience.