April 23, 2015
Hawaii

Hawaiian hoary bat now state land mammal

By Catherine Cruz | Apr 22, 2015 | www.kitv.com

It was all smiles as the little hoary bat was granted full honors.

It didn’t hurt that the cutest body-double in a bat costume added “star power” to the historic event.

The event also marked the governor’s first ceremonial bill signing.

The stroke of a bat pen marked the elevation of an endangered Hawaiian creature to the official land mammal.

“It does help raise awareness, especially for our young people about some things that get overlooked,” said Gov. David Ige.

And it all happened on a special day.

“Here is the governor signing it on Earth Day. And we are showing the importance of these animals and our environment and things that we take for granted that really are important,” said Sen. Sam Slom.

It took five tries before the Senate’s lone Republican succeeded in getting bi-partisan support for the special designation.

Some might say the champion for the Ope’ape’a even shares bat tendencies: tenacious and solitary.

The Hoary bat is believed to have flown thousands of miles to develop into a Hawaiian subspecies.

“The Hoary bat is unique in that it was strong enough to fly from California and persevere here. So it’s really a unique animal,” said Honolulu Zoo’s Ben Okimoto.

Most recently, the bat’s habitat has come under scrutiny.

Some scientists fear the new addition of wind turbines to the islands landscape is honing in on the nesting area of bats.

Environmental studies for large solar farms and even the intrusion of ziplines in forested areas are flagging the need to tread carefully when it comes to clearing tall trees.

“It roosts by itself in the forest, so when you go out to study them, the researchers have a hard time because of the numbers. They are so scattered. So ,its going to take more effort and more time to learn about them,” Okimoto said.

The Three Ring Ranch, a Big Island animal sanctuary has nursed many an injured bat back to health.

Their most recent resident was released back into the wild three years ago.

Elusive and endangered, but the Hoary bat is now in the spotlight.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/04/23/hawaiian-hoary-bat-now-state-land-mammal/