Bhubaneswar, Aug. 28: A number of people have started working for the protection of bats in many parts of the state. Ignoring their images as blood-thirsty, winged demons of the night, these mammals are now recognised as a regular animal co-existing with human beings on this planet by the semi-urban population as they have realised the importance of bats that help protect and propagate the bio-diversity.

Besides their major role as pollinators for plant species, bats can also fight diseases such as dengue by preying on mosquitoes. They also prey on insects that harm crops.

Local residents are helping to protect these flying creatures in Jagatpur, Biribati and Banki in Cuttack district, Kalapathar in Nayagarh, Talcher in Dhenkanal, Karanjia, Baripada and Jashipur in Mayurbhanj and Tikiri in Rayagada.

Because of human ignorance and practices such as habitat destruction and indiscriminate use of pesticides, many bat species are under serious threat and some have already gone extinct.

Wildlife experts feel that while India is concentrating on the conservation of its majestic wildlife and studies of its natural history, bats are hardly cared for and very little is known about them. With at least 109 species, India has an incredible diversity of bats. This includes one of the largest in the world, the Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus), one of the most colourful, the orange and black painted bat (Kerivoula picta), and one of the rarest, Salim Ali’s fruit bat (Latidens salimalii). The habits of India’s bats are as diverse as the habitats they live in. From high up in the Himalayas to the deserts of the north-west, in the tropical forests of the east and south, there are bats that feed on fruit, nectar, insects, frogs, and even other bats.

A survey of their feeding habits indicates that three common fruit bats alone help in the pollination and seed dispersal of more than 114 species of plants of economic, ecological, medicinal, and even religious importance. Essential wild varieties of bananas, guavas and other fruits are dependent on bats to maintain natural populations. Figs are favourites of fruit bats and one can often see a carpet of “spats”, or chewed fruits, on the ground near the trees. Such ecologically important trees are considered keystone species because numerous animals utilise them as a resource.

On the other hand, bats are considered a good source of meat and killed rampantly to meet the requirements of animal protein without considering the ecological impact of their extinction.

However, in many parts of Orissa, villagers consider bats as sacred mammals and treat them as environmental indicators.

According to Indian mythology, bats are believed to be behind the dispersal of rudraksha seeds. Rudraksha beads are popular not just for their religious uses, but also for their medicinal qualities like lowering blood pressure and stress levels.

In Nayagarh district of Kalapathar village near the capital, between 1,000 and 2,000 bats are found in tamarind, mango and palm trees and are protected by villagers.

However, there is no protection for these bats under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. In Biribati and Jagtpur, bats are the pollinators and seed dispersers for many rare plants such as, Oroxylum indicum, whose distribution in good numbers near bat colonies is an example of their ecological role.

Master Apollo, a businessman from Nayagarh district, who is now settled in Bhubaneswar, said: “Not only in Kalapathar area, but in many rural areas, people come forward for their protection. Hundreds of such places might be existing in Orissa although they are not listed by environmentalists.”

“A visit to these sites by tourists, students of biology and even the general public, would certainly change the attitude of people towards this friendly creature,” he said.

Environmentalist Prasad Dash of Vasundhara said: “Since bats share their habitat with common birds such as blue jay, crow and myna, the greeting chorus can be deafening. Just after sunset, the bats begin leaving their tree roost for feeding. They return about two hours before sunrise after feeding on a wide variety of fruits, such as, figs, mangoes, guava and neem.”

“We have to understand that these fruit bats are wildlife treasures unique to Orissa so they are to be identified as key pollinators and seed dispersers of endemic plants, including some that are economically important. We have to recognise that the key to saving Orissa’s declining forests is to conserve the bats that are necessary for the survival of plants. People of the state can help save bats in two ways — by not eating them and by protecting their forest habitat.”

Habitat and ecology

Fruit bats live in colonies on large trees in rural and urban areas, close to agricultural fields, ponds and by the side of roads. They feed on a wide variety of fruits and flowers, both wild and cultivated. Bats give birth to a single young between April and early June.

They travel long distances, up to 150km from and to its roost, at night in search of fleshy berries. Colonies usually have a permanent roost with one or two temporary roosts that shift depending on season and other unknown factors.

Major threat

There appears to be no major threat to this species as a whole. It is assumed that this species is locally threatened by cutting down of roosting trees. They are also hunted in several locations for meat and for medicine. New roosts have been observed, but the impact of roost disturbance and felling is not known and the impact of hunting is also not recorded. Surveys of local people at more than 30 roost sites indicate a steady decline in roosting population.

Other role

Bats also consume vast quantities of insects, such as, mosquitoes and agricultural pests. Unfortunately, some bat species have recently become extinct and many others are endangered.

The geographic ranges of many other species have been drastically reduced. These ecological damages are often caused by the loss of roosting sites, deforestation, insect control and environmental contamination with toxic pesticides, all of which are associated with human activity.

Life history

Bats may roost in trees or may inhabit caves, buildings, or any structure that provides an overhang. They are social animals, often roosting together in large swarms. In most species, females give birth to only one offspring per year. The young are usually born with small and undeveloped wings, but grow rapidly and soon can fly and forage on their own.

Those bats that live in places with cold winters can hibernate during the winter. Other bats migrate to warmer climates at the onset of winter. Bats have remarkably long life spans and can live for more than 20 years.