Home Our Work Endangered species interventions Fijian Free-Tailed Bat

Habitat

Caves; the bats only known maternity roost is in Nakanacagi Cave, which is of great cultural importance to the local residents of Fiji.

The Fijian Government recognizes the importance of this area for biodiversity and has given it protected area status— the first in Fiji in more than a decade

Diet

Insectivorous; eats insects

Protect the last known maternity roost for the Fijian Free-tailed Bat

Common Name
Fijian free-tailed bat
Scientific Name
Mops Bregullae
Status
Endangered
Location
Fijian Island of Vanua Levu

Project Details

Lack of adequate protection for bats, cave disturbance (tourism, hunting, persecution), and habitat degradation and destruction (e.g., logging, mining, agricultural intensification, and urbanization) have led to steep declines in Fiji’s bats. We are working to protect the last known maternity roost for the Fijian Free-tailed Bat (Mops bregullae) and implement long-term conservation plans on the Fijian islands. Nakanacagi Cave on the island of Vanua Levu, Fiji, is the only known roosting site for the endangered Fijian Free-tailed Bat. Protecting this site is crucial for the survival of this species, which is thought to be only 5,000 individuals and decreasing.

Our priority is to collaborate with partners, including the National Trust of Fiji, Nature Fiji, and the Rainforest Trust, to secure it as a protected area — mitigating the major threat of disturbance to this bat. We will finalize the purchase and acquisition of Nakanacagi Cave on the island of Vanua Levu and identify and protect additional roosts of the Fijian Free-tailed Bat, if found. Developing a cave management plan for Fiji, including conservation guidelines for a variety of cave types and all cave-roosting bat species, will help mobilize a conservation network of local communities, government agencies, and NGOs for bat conservation.

 
Fiji Nakanacagi Cave © BCI

Habitat Management

  • BCI and the Rainforest Trust are working together with the National Trust of Fiji and NatureFiji-MareqetiViti to protect the roosting site and surrounding area through land acquisition and implementation of conservation management plans.
  • Identify threats to the surrounding habitat to protect food sources
 
Nakanacagi Cave Dedication

Local Involvement

  • Work directly with private landowners for protection of land near the cave
  • Create the nation’s only bat preserve by collaborating and coordinating the habitat and species plan with local agencies

Key Collaborators