THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bats are widely misunderstood creatures, with a significant section of the human race confounded by the mammal. And ‘Sally, the fruit bat’ is here to dispel all kinds of myths surrounding the mammal. Wildlife researcher Nithin Divakar has initiated a project on social media to bring some goodwill to the mammal. An Insta page titled @bat_conservation_kerala has been started by the researcher where fruit bat Sally, a character created for the project, will introduce the ‘bat world’ to the public.
“Sally has been modelled on ‘Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat’ and will narrate tales of other bats,” says Nithin. “Bats have always been portrayed with a dark theme, but there is a colourful world around them. There is a lot of fear among the populace in areas where bats thrive. The idea is to rid society of all the falsehoods surrounding bats.”
The social media initiative is also being undertaken by Nithin as part of the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) grant, which he received in 2021. A wildlife researcher at Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Nithin’s work is an ode to the mammal.
Nithin has been conducting research on Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat since 2021 after getting a grant from the CLP. Extensive surveys are being carried out in bat caves in Kerala to ascertain their presence and study their behaviour. “The Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat is the only bat species endemic to South Western Ghats and hence holds a prime position. It is also an extremely rare bat and has a restricted population, one of which is in Kerala,” he says.
The wildlife biology lab of KFRI is also involved in the social media initiative, he says. “It is part of the citizen science initiative as this will help dispel myths surrounding bats,” he says. Apart from the social media initiative, Nithin is engaged in efforts to reach out to the general public. The human-animal conflict element is hardly discussed in the case of bats, he says.
“People find it incredibly difficult to coexist with bats and the conflict is high in places where the mammals roost near human settlements. This is due to lack of awareness about not just the crucial role which bats play in ecology, but also in the economy. For instance, in Thrissur, a large number of people benefit from sites where the bats roost. They are able to collect the cashew that the bats bring in, and sell them. The bats just eat the fruit and leave the nut and they collect it and sell it,” says Nithin.
winged wonders
The Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat is the only bat species endemic to South Western Ghats and hence holds a prime position
Extensive surveys are being carried out in bat caves in Kerala to ascertain their presence and study their behaviour