Foraging and roosting patterns of a repeatedly mass-culled island flying fox reveals opportunities to mitigate human–wildlife conflict
Version: 1,
Uploaded by: Administrator,
Date Uploaded:
28 November 2022
Warning
You are about to be redirected to a website not operated by the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council. Kindly note that we are not responsible for the availability or content of the linked site. Are you sure you want to leave this page?
Human–wildlife conflicts (HWC) arising from fruit bats eating commercial fruits is a worsening problem worldwide and is epitomized by the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger), a species threatened with extinction yet repeatedly mass-culled since 2015. Non-lethal solutions for dealing with this HWC are needed, which are rooted in the evidence available. In this study, we tracked the movements of 12 flying fox individuals over two years in order to document the animal’s movement ecology, with a view to deriving recommendations to alleviate the ensuing HWC. We found that flying foxes prefer to forage and roost in forested areas located at elevations < 250 m. However, during the fruiting season of commercial trees, the animals tended to roost closer to and forage more often on commercial fruits during the early hours of the night. These findings have several implications for the improvement of commercial fruit protection, which should in turn alleviate HWC, notably through informing management to take into consideration the spatio-temporal expression of flying fox foraging.