by Lorie A. Cascaro
Unlike the old days when the durian season started only in August, today durian harvests have been abundant all year round. This is not just because of the new technologies on growing various varieties of durian in the region regardless of the changing seasons. For Norma Monfort, founder of the Philippine Bats Conservation Incorporated (PBCI), such abundance underlines the economic value of bats.
“I have never seen this abundance of durian. Napakaraming durian ngayon, meaning to say, napakaraming bats nagpollinate ng ating mga durian,” Monfort said last April 19 during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at the SM Davao. She said durian farmers no longer regard bats as pests.
Fruit bats, (scientific name Rousettus amplexicaudatus) or Geoffroy’s Rousette, are the largest colony of bats found at the Monfort Bat Conservation Park on Babak, Island Garden City of Samal, owned by Norma Monfort. These bats, which feed on fruits and nectar, are the major pollinators of durian and seed dispersers that help in sustaining the ecosystem. “Beyond the bats, walang major pollinators ng durian,” Monfort said.
“Bats conserve biodiversity,” was the theme of the Eco-Conservation Fair held at the SM Davao last April 21-22 by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Tourism (DOT), Bats Conservation International (BCI) and PBCI. The fair was in line with the Earth day celebration and the UN declaration of 2010 as the international year of biodiversity.
“We are going into further research. We are working with UP Mindanao and trying to tap Ateneo for biology students to go into durian research and bat pollination because important po na ipakita natin ang economic value ng bats,” Monfort said.
Monfort said they will launch a campaign in May on the theme — “No Bats, No Durian!” — an effort to work hand-in-hand with farm growers and stakeholders in preserving bats and at the same time maintaining good farm harvests. “We are going to Davao del Sur where we know there are a lot of fruit orchards. We will consult with farm growers to address the issue, what the problems are,” she said.
Monfort started this advocacy two years ago in her bats conservation park. As of last March she said, there are two volunteers during the day who give orientation to the tourists and cavers. They also visit schools asking them to participate in the education campaign.
Fruit bats have an acute sense of hearing and smell, so they should not be disturbed in their cave roosts. “It’s like sleeping in your house at nambubulabog ang mga tao,” Monfort said. The moment one enters the cave it is already dangerous for the bats. Monfort maintains a strict policy not to enter Monfort’s bat caves, especially this month which is their breeding season. She said one can already see the bats through the horizontal opening of the cave. “The moment na lumapit ka ng mga one meter, two meters, naaamoy ka na nila, nagugulat ang mga nanay, at nahuhulog ang mga babies,” she said. Hunting is also the cause of decline of the number of bats in other caves on Samal island, according to her.
Guinness World Records
In January this year, the Guinness World Records certified the Monfort bats colony as the largest colony of fruit bats in the whole world with a population ranging from 1.8 to 2.5 million as of 2006.
“The bats are still secure in the cave,” Monfort said. The other caves, according to her, are huge but they are practically empty with signs on the wall of staining. “They (stains) demonstrate that in previous times there were big colonies of bats,” she said.
There are 71 caves on Samal and only 10 of them were surveyed by PBCI and BCI. Among the 10 caves, only Monfort Bats Conservation Park was found with the largest population of fruit bats, and the rest only have 500 to 1,000 each at the most. There are 10 species of bats found on Samal island, 50 in the whole of Mindanao, 70 in the Philippines, and 1,100 in the world.
Monfort cave is a key ecotourism destination site of Mindanao as declared by DOT. Monfort vows to tap corporations to help in bat conservation. “We hope that with the Guiness world record makakasecure ng corporation, tulungan tayo sa social responsibilities kasi this is not just for me, for Samal. This is for the entire Philippines,” Monfort stressed.
