honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Feds devise recovery plan for Marianas fruit bat


Associated Press

HONOLULU — The federal government has developed a plan to help revive the threatened Mariana fruit bat.

The species, known as fanihi in Chamorro, is found only in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The bat's fur is black and brown, and it has a wingspan of about 3 feet. Some people call the fanihi flying foxes because their faces resemble canines.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday its draft management plan for the species would reduce or eliminate hunting to allow fanihi numbers to increase.

The agency also aims to protect of the best existing fanihi habitat.

Most fanihi now live north of Saipan on relatively isolated islands in the Marianas archipelago.

The agency is accepting comments on the plan through June 28.