Another barbaric massacre, as colony of rare fruit bats ravaged by gunmen

A PROTECTED colony of rare fruit bats in Cyprus has almost been wiped out by unidentified gunmen using them for target practice, conservation groups and authorities said yesterday.
Dozens of the mammals, which are under threat of extinction, were killed in a shooting spree in the fenced-off Vretsia cave, next to the Xeros river in Paphos. From a colony of about 60, only 10 to 15 survived, conservation experts said.
They said the shooting probably occurred on Sunday, but discovered the carnage only on Wednesday.
"The cave is nowhere close to a residential area so I can only assume people were doing this for kicks," said Harris Nicolaou, a conservation officer with the Cypriot forestry department.
The population of the once plentiful fruit bat has declined rapidly in the past century because of government-sanctioned extermination programmes under British colonial rule before independence in 1960.
The Paphos Forest is a Game Reserve Area and Natura 2000 site, with the cave protected under the EU’s habitat directive.
While the mammal can also be found in the Middle East, Pakistan and north India, there were a maximum of 3,500 left in Cyprus, said Nicolaou, who tracks the bats.
"This is now a strictly protected species, it is the only fruit bat we have, and the only fruit bat in an EU member state," he said.
Bats are associated with superstition in other cultures but in Cyprus, they are considered more as pests that eat fruit.
"That perception is actually wrong," said Nicolaou. "It will only eat over-ripe fruit."
“There was a colony of around 50 to 60 Egyptian Fruit Bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) in the cave, but their numbers have now been reduced to ten”
He added that this was the fourth such incident at the cave over the last four years.
“Two months ago, after a similar thing happened, we fenced off the cave and put up warning signs,” Nicolaou explained. “However, three or four individuals managed to jump over the fence on Sunday afternoon.
“One went inside the cave and started shooting, while his colleagues waited outside for the bats to fly out, where they were clinically picked off.”
He said that only 20 bodies had been retrieved due to the thick vegetation in the area, while survivors may have been able to fly away.
“These people consider bats to be pests, alleging that they destroy crops. But there are no crops in the area. The fruit bat, as its name suggests, eats fruit, which is not suitable for commercial sale or human consumption.
“It also actually protects crops by controlling numbers of the destructive Mediterranean fruitfly, which causes a great deal of damage.”
According to Nicolaou, there remain around 3,500 Egyptian Fruit Bats on the island, with numbers declining due to similar incidents recorded every year.
Cyprus has 16 species of bat, and is the only EU country to have the Egyptian fruit bat. All bat species are strictly protected by both European and national legislation.
Following news of the killing, the Green Party issued a statement: “Despite measures taken by the Forestry Department and the Game Fund for the protection of the bats’ habitat in Vretsia, irresponsible hunters entered the protected zone and started shooting in the cave, resulting in the deaths of tens of Egyptian fruit bats.”
The statement added that this was not a one-off event. “In the past, hunters have repeatedly damaged bat habitats in different areas of the island, especially in Paphos and show complete disregard for the law. We call on the authorities to take stricter measures to protect bats and punish those who break the law.”
"There are still those who regard bats as vermin, but these were clearly people using these creatures as target practice," said Christos Charalambous, a member of the Green party who has tracked the colony for years.
"This is part of the wealth of our bio-diversity, I cannot understand why it is happening."
Those found in violation face a £1,000 fine and/or six months in prison.
President of the Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Association Andreas Kyprianou hit back at suggestions that the culprits were hunters.
“The latest information I have is that the man responsible owns some land in the area and the bats have been eating his fruit. He rounded up a couple of his friends and they went to shoot them.”
He described their actions as “unacceptable”, adding that hunters have no problem with bats, which are nocturnal creatures and do not disturb them.
“In fact, we want to protect bats and feel this is a critical issue,” he said.