HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The little Mariana fruit bat has been removed from the Endangered Species Act as it has been declared extinct.
The little Mariana fruit bat, also known as the Guam flying fox, was last seen in 1968. It is one of 21 species of animals that have been delisted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to extinction.
The action, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, “signals a wake-up call on the importance of conserving imperiled species before it’s too late.”
“Federal protection came too late to reverse these species’ decline and it’s a wake-up call on the importance of conserving imperiled species before it’s too late,” said Service Director Martha Williams.
The little Mariana fruit bat was listed as an endangered animal in 1984. Sixteen years later, the small fruit bat, which once lived in large colonies on the island, was no longer sighted.
According to the Encyclopedia, “the little Mariana fruit bat foraged and roosted in native tropical forest on limestone and sometimes in coconut groves; strand forest and ravine forest” in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Excessive hunting during and after World War II were factors in the animal’s extinction.
“The rare bat also suffered the loss of most of its tropical-forest habitat through agricultural development and military activities, coupled with destruction during warfare and typhoons,” the Encyclopedia said.
“The 21 species extinctions highlight the importance of the ESA and efforts to conserve species before declines become irreversible. The circumstances of each also underscore how human activity can drive species decline and extinction, be contributing to habitat loss, overuse, and the introduction of invasive species and diseases,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife said.
The little Mariana fruit bat, also known as the Guam flying fox, has been declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
