Isang mottle-winged flying fox, itinuturing na isa sa pinakamalaking paniki sa buong mundo, ang namataan sa Masungi Georeserve conservation area sa Rizal.
Ang mottle-winged flying fox ay sobrang “rare” at sa Pilipinas lang matatagpuan.
Endemic ito sa Luzon island.
Ang sighting sa pambihirang paniki ay kinumpirma ng pamunuan ng Masungi Georeserve conservation area.
Nai-post ito sa official Facebook Page ng Masungi Georeserve noong August 20, 2022.
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“First in the Rizal province! Our research expedition’s Project Lead Mariah Dichoso and Mammals Expert Joel Sarmiento were able to record the Mottle-winged Flying Fox [Desmalopex leucopterus] in Masungi.
“The Luzon-endemic Mottle-winged Flying Fox belongs to a genus of bats that can only be seen in the Philippines, and are among the largest bats in the world. It usually resides in mountainous and forested regions.”
Ang pakpak ng mottle-winged flying fox ay kulay mapusyaw na brown, may white spots at white stripe sa gilid ng pakpak. Tinawag ito sa pangalan nito dahil ang pinakaulo ay parang sa fox.
May kabuuang haba ito na 185 hanggang 240 millimeters, at may timbang na 250 hanggang 375 grams.
Itinuturing ng International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ang mottle-winged flying fox na kabilang sa vulnerable species.
Ayon kay Project Lead Mariah Dichoso, “It says a lot about Masungi to see this type of flying fox as it tends to forage in smaller groups and in cluttered canopies to lessen their exposure to predators.
“There is an abundance of food resources found in Masungi which the flying foxes use as a foraging site. This indicates Masungi is protected and has a healthy forest within its borders.”
Dagdag naman ni Mammal Researcher Renz Duco, “You will not expect species like that to forage on say, a degraded land.
“It needs resources, it needs viable resources, it needs habitat, it needs shelter. We assume that Masungi has that.”
Bagaman at may negative notion tungkol sa mga paniki, lalo na nang lumaganap ang pandemya dahil sila ang itinurong carriers ng virus, iginiit ni Duco na napakahalaga ng species na ito para mapanatili ang balanseng ecosystem.
Malaki ang naitutulong ng mottle-winged flying fox at iba pang paniki sa pollination at pagkakalat ng buto ng native trees dahil bulaklak at prutas ang kanilang kinakain, bukod pa sa mga pesteng insekto.
Ani Duco, “To maintain that balance, we need to help them by preserving their habitat.
“I’ve been to a lot of limestone forests also, but most of them are degraded since nauuna ang mga interes ng mga tao.
“Masungi could be, in the future, not only considered na habitat ng mga important species, ng mga wildlife species but also somewhat of a [field] laboratory for future researchers also."