Former Midnight Oil Singer - Now Environment Minister - Says Island Bat Will Probably Die Out

The Environment Minister for the Australian territory Christmas Island, Peter Garrett, has publicly said the local pipistrelle bat has decreased in numbers so much that it will likely go extinct.

The population has been in a rapid decline for the last fourteen years. Yet the reasons for the serious drop-off are still not clear.

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A survey in January of 2009 showed there may be as little as 20 individuals alive. Reportedly, there were slightly over 50 of the animals alive several years ago. It has been speculated that
introduced species such as the wolf snake, yellow crazy ant, black rat or feral cats are eating
the bats, or their offspring. The Christmas Island pipistrelle only exists on that one island. It is a microbat and weighs about 3 to 5 grams.

The minister said the government has spent nearly four million dollars on eradicating the yellow crazy ants, but the bat population has contined to dwindle. A potential life-saving solution is a captive breeding program for the bats, but he cautioned that he is not aware of any successful
ones for microbats such as the pipistrelle. They are very difficult to catch, and knowledge of how
to keep them alive and thriving in captivity for reproduction is not abundant. A trial program using another kind of pipistrelle microbat that is of a large population, may provide the knowledge that can be used to save the Christmas Island species from extinction.

Christmas Island is known for its biological diversity. An annual red crab migration of 100 million is one example. About 60% of the island is a national park.

Image Credit: Mnolf, Wikipedia Commons

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