Work to ensure survival of the Formosan golden bat
We hope to promote the conservation of Formosan golden bat from the four aspects of education, research, lobbying and habitat protection. In addition to conducting bat surveys and habitat protection, dozens of lectures, camps, workshops, seminars and ecotourisms are held every year. Of course, bat survival and rescue are also our routine task.
Formosan Golden Bat's Home is the environmental education center that passed the Taiwanese government's Environmental Education Facilities and Venues Certification. To promote public education of the ecological roles of bats and their benefit to the environment and humans, we hold various activities such as Eco-camp, workshops, storytelling tours, and bat house promotion tours. We also publish Golden Bats-related materials such as DVDs and books and train personnel and volunteers to learn about the ecological conservation of bats.
Research
Although the cost of academic research of Golden Bat is usually very high, it is the essential information and evidence for conservation strategy. Our study covered various areas, including: calls of the golden bats, long-term monitoring of bat activity and habitat use, bat house use in conservation, analysis of golden bat defecation, bat rescue, rehabilitation system, etc. We also organized and co-sponsored international forums and workshops and brought together local and international bats experts, government agencies, industry, and other stakeholders.
Lobbying
We aimed to raise government and public awareness of the conservation of golden bats by establishing the species conservation status. We provided long-term monitoring and distribution data of the golden bat (Myotis formosus flavus) to the Endemic Species Research Institute of Council of Agriculture and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to establish the species conservation status. It was later included in “The Red List of Terrestrial Mammals of Taiwan, 2017” by the Endemic Species Research Institute and was classified as “Near Threatened” by IUCN, which means the species would be threatened without ongoing conservation measures.
Habitat protection
We adopt two approaches for the habitat preservation of golden bats, creating new habitats, and preventing pollution and development in the habitat. Since creating tree plantations may replace lost roosting and foraging habitat for bats, we cooperated with Yunlin County Government to plant trees around the bat’s habitat and guard the trees once inhabited by the golden bat.
Our study showed six types of pesticides and numbers of heavy metal substances detected in the golden bat. It is known that agricultural intensification is a significant cause of the decline in golden bat populations. To prevent further development and human activity that may disturb the bat, we have been encouraging and supporting environmentally friendly farming by marketing for the farmers, buying the product from them, and promoting an eco-friendly farming certificate.