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MONFORT BAT SANCTUARY
Samal Island, Philippines 2024
For a long time, bats have been unjustly depicted as an omen of darkness and harm. And to further that disservice, they were even linked to a pandemic a few years ago. Yet beneath the stigma that bats have endured for over a century lies their ecological importance and the negative impact their absence would have on our lives.
The Monfort Bat Sanctuary, a few kilometers northwest of the Babak Port, offers a unique experience on bat conservation. It is a privately owned stretch of land with a cave system that the Monfort Family used as a temporary shelter during World War II. The sanctuary is now home to the largest colony of Geoffroy’s Rousette Fruit Bats (Rousettus amplexicaudatus), as certified by Guinness World Records. In 2006, the bat population was approximately 1.8 million; today, it is estimated to be over 2.3 million.
You can travel from Babak Port by car or hire a motorcycle (haggling skills are non-negotiable) to the sanctuary, which is open seven days a week between 0800 and 1700. On arrival, you will have to pay PHP 120.00 to access the vicinity.
Although not required, I highly recommend that you attend the briefing before proceeding to see the bats. It only takes less than 5 minutes, and the short lecture provides you with invaluable information about bats’ lives, leaving you feeling more informed and enlightened.
For one, I already knew that these creatures are nocturnal pollinators. What I didn’t realize is that they are the primary pollinators of the durian flower, which only blooms within a limited 3-hour window. Consequently, the absence of bats will significantly reduce the production of durian, the renowned king of fruits for which Davao City is proudly known.
In addition, fruit bats play a crucial role in reforestation. The seeds they cannot digest from the fruits they consume are dispersed far and wide through their droppings, giving hope for the growth of new plants.
The family that owns the sanctuary has imposed strict rules to protect the bats. You are welcome to enter the area, but entry into the cave itself is not allowed, as it may stress the cave-roosting bats and their young. Additionally, while photography and videography are permitted, the use of flash is discouraged, as it can stun and cause some of the bats to fall to their deaths. As a sanctuary, visitors are expected to be respectful, keep the place clean, and refrain from making loud noises, fostering a sense of responsibility and consideration among visitors.
As you exit the conference area, long before reaching the cave, you’ll notice the distinct smell of guano or bat droppings. It’s not exactly repulsive, but it does have a strong, pungent, sweet aroma that some people may find difficult to tolerate.
The cave is interconnected with 5 sinkholes that also serve as viewing decks. One might feel overwhelmed by the immense cave systems that house these winged mammals. These bats have a life span of 30 to 40 years. They have a gestational period of 6 months and rear their young for the next 3 months after birth. You may observe signages that each sinkhole holds different groups of bats. One cavity houses the maternity ward, where females nurse their young. This is followed by the training grounds, and then, lastly, the elderly ward, where you can barely see any bats, but their presence is made by loud chirping. And surprisingly, these segregations are decided upon by the bats themselves!
In addition to bats, the complex cave system is also inhabited by monitor lizards, snakes, and even rats, which are known to prey on bats. Another intriguing aspect of these bats is their interaction with predators. Dr. Krizler Tanalgo, a biologist specializing in bats, has documented that the crows in the Monfort Bat Sanctuary communicate with each other and employ a divide-and-conquer strategy to hunt bats. In the same cave, researchers have reported that sexual activities and positive behaviors among bats are more frequent and active in less crowded areas compared to more congested areas. This suggests that available space and resources can promote more positive interactions, even in highly overcrowded populations.
Millions of bats in a single space made me realize that they are similar to people. Each bat has its own agenda for the day: roosting, rearing their young, learning how to fly, keeping away pests, or simply getting some proper sleep away from sunlight.
Regardless of how one perceives the existence of bats, it is undeniable that our lives wouldn’t be the same without them.
Suppose we allow their numbers to dwindle because of needless disturbance of their ecosystem and roosting places, we will also lose many things as their benefactors, and everything else will spiral downward.
It is only fitting that we protect them by being educated instead of fearing them because, at the end of the day, they may have predators, but the main reason why their numbers decline is traced back to no other species but us – humans.
