proximately 500 bats, is located within the proposed boundaries of the refuge. The colony’s small size and low reproductive rate make it highly vulnerable. The dramatic decline of these bats is primarily due to unrestricted hunting (fruit bats are considered a delicacy on Guam, as well as throughout much of Micronesia*). Although it has not been legal to kill these bats on Guam since 1977, poaching has also been a serious threat and must be eliminated in the new refuge. The bats are important pollinators and seed dispersers for Guam’s remaining forests. Without the bats, the forests themselves are in jeopardy.
The relatively untouched beauty of Ritidian Point contrasts greatly with the heavily developed areas of Guam. This is one of the few places on the island where you can still hear birds calling in the treetops and see the magnificent Mariana fruit bats slowly circling near the limestone cliffs. Under protection of the refuge, these animals will have the chance to recover and be there for future generations to enjoy and appreciate.
You can help by voicing your support now
We need your help to ensure that politics don’t overcome the importance of protecting an endangered system of unique plants and animals. With most of the island developed for use by people, we need to ensure that wildlife has at least a small corner in which to survive.
Please join us in writing to George Frampton (Assistant Secretary, Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, U.S. Dept. of the Interior**) to ask for his support in maintaining the Guam National Wildlife Refuge. Send copies of your letter to Mollie Beattie (Director, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior**), Bruce Babbitt (Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Dept. of the Interior**), and Robert Underwood (Delegate from Guam, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515).
* BATS, March 1986, Spring 1988, Spring 1990, Fall 1990, Winter 1989-90.
** 1849 C Street N.W., Washington, DC 20240.
Above: The Ritidian Point unit of the refuge is a critical feeding and fly-through area for the last Mariana fruit bats on the island. Without the continued protection offered by this area, their future is uncertain.
Ritidian Point is one of the last places on Guam where fruit bats can be seen soaring over the ocean along the island’s limestone cliffs.