No-fly zone sought over bats’ sanctuary in Boracay

Wildlife conservationists are calling for a government declaration of a “no-fly zone” for helicopters over the cave sanctuary of endangered fruit bats on Boracay Island, which has been attracting tourists worldwide for its powdery sand beaches and hopping night life.

Helicopters on fun flights for tourists disturb both humans and wildlife on the island, said Julia Lervik, president of the Friends of the Flying Foxes (FFF). In particular, she cited the vicinity of Barangay Yapak, where the fruit bats are found.

Lervik said the helicopter flights and landing pads should also be moved out to the mainland town of Malay in Aklan province, except those that are used for emergency purposes.

Conservationists have identified three bat species in Boracay, including the Golden-Crowned Flying Fox (Acerodon jubatus), which is endemic to the Philippines and entered as among the endangered species worldwide on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

Essential roles

The nocturnal creatures perform essential roles in pollinating many plants, including many fruits and for keeping the insect population under control. Bat droppings also help fertilize the ground and support plant and tree growth especially in Boracay’s few remaining forest cover.

Some of the fruit bats remain in Boracay every night to feed, but most of them fly to the forests of Panay and they are responsible for the dispersing of seeds of around 95 percent of the forest in Panay, according to the FFF.

The forest near Puka Beach in Barangay Yapak is home to the Flying Foxes, so-called because they resemble foxes with wings. Their population declined from some 15,000 in 1986 to 2,238 as of April 8, 2014, the last official registered bat count.

While conducting a survey in Boracay early this year, United Kingdom-based environmental consultant Chantal Brown observed that helicopters were flying very near the roosting sites of the bats at 200 meters or less.

The flights took place at sunset or dusk when the bats were preparing for their exit to the mainland 40 kilometers away to feed on fruits from forest trees.

In her report, Brown said the bats’ behavior exhibited signs of being “highly stressed” during several fly-outs, coinciding with the presence of close-flying helicopters every 10 to 15 minutes. “Stressed behaviors are already exhibited and populations are decreasing,” she said.

She raised concern that the disturbance from the helicopter flights and impact of human activity “will result in unnecessary energy losses and reduced reproductive efforts.”

There are critical times in the breeding cycle of bats when they face the highest risk from disturbance, according to Brown. These are during mating and when bats are lactating.

“To ensure the species do not become extinct, we need to have the highest protection of the bats at these times of the year to ensure the best chance of all the bats successfully mating and successfully rearing healthy young for the population to survive,” Brown reported.

Petition

Nenette Aguirre-Graf, a business operator on the island, said about 300 residents of Boracay had signed a petition calling for a ban on commercial operations of helicopters because these were disturbing them even early in the morning at Sitio Bulabog in Barangay Balabag and disrupt the natural habitat of the bats.

Brown recommended that the local government of Malay, which has jurisdiction over Boracay, ask the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other government agencies to stop erecting helicopter landing pads on the island and to transfer existing ones to Barangay Caticlan in Malay, the jump-off point to Boracay.

She also suggested the enforcement of a ban on flying over Yapak, a one-kilometer no-fly zone from the roosting site and cave of bats, and a 200-meter no-fly zone from the shoreline in other parts of the island.

Last year, the FFF and other groups and islanders held prayer and candle-lighting vigils to protest the continued development projects at the Puka Beach and surrounding forests.

The Flying Foxes are among the most popular tourist attractions in Boracay. Tourists would wait by the beach at sunset for thousands of them flying together to the Aklan mainland to feed on fruits from forest trees. But through the years, as development on the island continues unregulated, their daily flights are rarely seen.

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BATS, like this one roosting in a tree, are facing many threats in Boracay, including one from disruption by helicopters flying over their cave sanctuary. PHOTO COURTESY OF FFF