Some people think bats aren't worth a hill of . . . guano. But on the Pacific island of Guam, the mammals are considered a delicacy, and that has conservationists worried.
For 2,500 years, the indigenous Chamorros of Guam have been eating bats. Now, a World Wildlife Fund report says the region's fruit bats face the threat of extinction because so many of them are being snared, frozen and sent to Guam.Much of the world sees bats as frightful beasts, either associating all species with bloodsucking vampire bats or viewing them as rabies-carrying vermin.
But the fund says the fruit bats, in addition to excreting nitrogen-rich guano that is useful as a fertilizer, play an important role as pollinators and seed dispersers for hundreds of plant species.
The report said some Chamorros believe no price is too high for a fresh fanihi, or fruit bat, which may weigh as much as 3 pounds and have a wingspan exceeding 5 feet. The current market price is $25 to $40 a bat - and that's for one frozen and imported from abroad.
In Guam, native bats have all but disappeared, with only about 500 remaining for 50,000 Chamorros. However, the frozen variety imported from the Philippines or other Pacific islands are sold in grocery stores, from stands and by house-to-house vendors.
Some people even send them abroad as gifts, according to a survey included in the fund report.
U.S. law prohibits trade in animals that are taken illegally in another country, but it's often difficult to prosecute because of uncertainty about laws in the country where the bats were harvested.