It’s always fun to talk about bats in October. Here at HPPA, where we love bats, we like to call them “sky puppies”!
Our six partner national park sites in Hawaiʻi are all places where you can try to catch a glimpse of the cute little fuzzball known as the Hawaiian hoary bat. “Hoary” means frosted, like “hoarfrost”, and here it describes a mature bat whose deep, glossy, brown fur is tipped with white. These bats can also have a tan collar and ears, with fancy black ear tips. Their Hawaiian name is ʻōpeʻapeʻa (oh pay uh pay uh) and they are pretty small—only 24 grams when fully grown. That is about the same weight as a AA battery. Their little wingspans max out at just about a foot wide. Small bats like this are called “microbats”.
Because of the difficulty of reaching these remote islands for just about any animal, the ʻōpeʻapeʻa is the only native land mammal in Hawaiʻi, and listed as an endangered species. Most scientists say that it is closely related to the North American hoary bat, and arrived in the islands a ~10,000 years ago, probably pulled along by the winds of a huge storm or series of storms.
‘Ōpe‘ape‘a in Hawaiian means “half-leaf", and might refer to the resemblance of the bat's open wing to the very important taro (also: kalo) plant leaf. And speaking of open wings, you can look for this bat fluttering over a truly wide variety of habitats in the early evening. Because they roost solo, in trees (usually), they may hunt insects in the forest, or swing out over the ocean to chase the evening’s offering of flies and mosquitos over the water, tracking their prey with echolocation.
They have been seen at dusk around the summit of Kīlauea Volcano and also hunting over the fishponds at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park. Stuffed full of bugs and happy, often having flown about 10 miles a night, the little ʻōpeʻapeʻa tries to get home before the sun comes up. Mating happens in the late fall, and twin pups in midsummer are the usual result. The twins will be with their mother for about two months. Sometimes she flies with them tucked under her “armpits”!
The worst threat to Hawaiian hoary bats are barbed wire fences, habitat destruction and devolpment, and pesticides that wipe out their food. Current population sizes and estimates are still unknown. If you live in Hawaiʻi, you can help preserve ‘ōpe‘ape‘a by planting flowering plants to attract insects and avoid pesticides. Keep nice big trees if you can, donʻt use barbed wire, and forego the use of “bat houses,” which often attract rats instead and really arenʻt tempting to an ʻōpeʻapeʻa, who would prefer to snooze safely in a big old tree, snuggling her twins, digesting a belly full of unwelcome and unwanted (by humans) mosquitoes.
In the South Pacific, the National Park of American Samoa is home to two species of the 16-ounce, dark brown fruit bat, also called the flying fox, and in Samoan: pe'a (pay ah). Peʻa is also the name of a traditional Samoan male tattoo. Flying foxes have about a 2.5 foot wingspan and a cute little foxy face. Unlike foxes, however, these are nocturnal fruit-eating bats which munch their way through the forests, spreading seeds as they feed (and poop), keeping the forest healthy and diversified. As they lick nectar from flowers they spread pollen around, too. Unlike the Hawaiian hoary bat, the fruit bat does not use sonar to find food, but has big, sensitive eyes and a great sense of smell. Large bats are called “megabats”.
In Samoan and Polynesian mythologies, proverbs and legends are associated with peʻa. One legend from the island of Savai'i in Samoa is about Nafanua, the goddess of war; she was rescued by flying foxes when stranded on an inhospitable island.
At the national park, and all over Samoa, fruit bats can be seen flying, feeding, or resting in trees with the rest of the chattering, busy colony. The national park gives flying foxes some protection from hunters. Populations of fruit bats everywhere seem to be in a slow decline despite protections since 1990, in part because of hunting for food and in part because of the changing climate and the ongoing clearing of healthy tropical forests on which they depend for meals and safe trees for the colony to use.
Mom fruit bats have one pup a year in the spring, and for a month they feed, rest, and fly with the pup snuggled up under one wing. Some moms manage two! When the pups get too heavy they stay home in the roost tree while the colony forages. The young stay with mom for about three months.
Did you know? The U.S. Mint released a National Park of American Samoa quarter featuring the park’s famous megabats. Their website says: The reverse (tails) design depicts a Samoan fruit bat mother hanging in a tree with her pup. The image evokes the remarkable care and energy that this species puts into their offspring. The design is intended to promote awareness of the species’ threatened status due to habitat loss and commercial hunting. The National Park of American Samoa is the only park in the United States that is home to the Samoan fruit bat.
Shop the bats of the national parks, including the National Park of American Samoa quarter.
Learn more about the National Park of American Samoa fruit bats.
Explore Hawaiian hoary bat science.
