Fruit bats play a major role in the growth of fruit plants, trees and flowers around the world. Like birds and bees, these bats feed on nectar and fruits, and in the process help disperse seeds and pollinate flowers. Without fruit bats, entire forests would suffer and decline, and the supply of even commercial fruits such as man needs will be affected.
Davao del Norte Province in the Philippines has long been home to the fruit bat. Sadly the population has rapidly diminished due to hunting and destruction of their habitat by man. Such is the case for most fruit bats elsewhere on the planet. But in the Bat Kingdom Cave on Samal Island things are different. This little known cave is a sanctuary for millions of fruit bats, the largest colony in the world.
Samal Island lies off the eastern coast of Davao province in the southern region of the Philippines known as Mindanao. The Bat Kingdom Cave itself is some 75 meters long, with an average of 60 fruit bats per square foot.Bat Kingdom is owned and cared for by the Monfort family, which for generations have protected the fruit bats living there. While other colonies outside the Monfort property are quickly being wiped out by poachers, that of Bat Kingdom Cave is thriving. In fact, Bat Conservation International, which helped create the Monfort Bat Conservation Park, has found that the cave is overcrowded.
As of this time, few tourists known about Bat Kingdom Cave on Samal Island. To visit the island, find a jeepney with “Sasa” marked on it. The jeepney will take you to a public boat station near Sasa Bridge. You then take the boat to the island. Alternatively you can take a ferry ride from the pier, just by J.P. Cabaguio Avenue which leads you to a domestic airport.
Because the Bat Kingdom Cave is so crowded, it is easy to get a good view of the fruit bats when you get there. Visitors stand at the entrance of the cave where they can see fruit bats hanging all over the walls down to the ground. The owner, Norma Monfort, is only too glad to tell people about the fruit bats, their role in the ecosystem and why they must be protected. The Bat Kingdom Cave averages some 400 visitors a day.
Bat Conservation International recently listed the Bat Kingdom Cave on Samal Island as the home of the largest population of Geoffroy’s rousette fruit bats. An ongoing program aims to educate the public about fruit bats and their conservation, and exhibits are being made in the area.
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Bat caves in Samal Island is a preserved cave that's why fruit bats are abundant in it. You should visit it, the fruit bast are very amazing.
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