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The Flying Fox vs the farmer

The government of Mauritius’ controversial culling of more than 50 000 Flying Foxes since 2015 is called a "control exercise.” This human wildlife conflict happens around the world. But what is a flying fox and why is this conflict of interest? The flying fox is what is now considered an endangered Mauritius fruit bat. Why were they culled? To protect the nation's fruit industry. A case of the Flying Fox vs the farmer.


Mauritian flying foxes can’t be missed as they are large and sometimes have a wingspan that can reach nearly a metre. They are found nowhere else in the world and are the country’s only native mammal. The delight is that we have one that visits the palm tree which is about 3m away from our balcony. Its wingspan is probably 80 cm and we recently watched this “bat” land on the palm tree and make its way down to the hanging fruit. Scientists say that the Mauritian flying fox plays an important role in assisting with the pollination of forest canopies and dispersing the seeds of large trees throughout the island's declining forests. However, the fruit farmers argue that the bats cause large scale economic losses to their yields. Ultimately, the bats lost in this human vs wildlife fight.


Interestingly, several academic studies have shown since the first cull in 2015 that most of the damage to fruit in the island's orchards is not caused by bats but by birds, rats and insects. The problem is, as with many other complex human wildlife conflicts, the missing piece is the acceptance that you'll rarely solve a complex social problem by arguing about facts. Several studies showed hat the damage to fruit in the island's orchards is not due to bats but birds that are invasive in Mauritius, as well as rats, pest sand diseases . It is easier to blame the fruit bats and be seen to be taking action. For us the emotion and fascination of watching this large and surprisingly agile animal make its way down the branch towards its dinner was a delight and we hope that conservation prevails over farmers' fruit yield. Story addition a day later… And then serendipity reared its often-experienced head. A day after doing some reading about the now endangered Flying Foxes we were sitting watching the waves with our morning coffee when Gavin started singing ‘Love is the Seventh Wave’ from Sting's 1985 solo debut album ‘The Dream of the Blue Turtles’.

The lyrics hooked me - “There is a deeper world than this That you don't understand There is a deeper world that this Tugging at your hand Every ripple on the ocean Every leaf on every tree Every sand dune in the desert Every power we never see There is a deeper wave than this Swelling in the world I say love is the seventh wave

I say love is the seventh wave I say love is the seventh wave

I say love is the seventh wave” It is believed that Sting was inspired by surfers telling him that the seventh wave was the strongest wave: they get stronger and stronger until the seventh wave, then start again. The idea of love being the strongest wave that would encompass everything in a destructive, apocalyptic way was an appealing one for Sting at the time. That was 1985. Now, in 2022, it feels like we need to remember that love is the seventh wave - especially when it comes to wildlife preservation.


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