Save the Bumblebee Bat from Extinction!

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Sponsor: The Rainforest Site

The smallest bat in the world is at high risk because of human activity. Take a stand and save this species from extinction!

Save the Bumblebee Bat from Extinction!

The bumblebee bat, also known as Kitti’s hog-nosed bat, is the smallest bat in the world, and has the smallest skull size of any mammal on earth1.

The bumblebee bat weighs on average less than .07 ounces and on 1.14 inches long2, but the tiny species is at heightened risk from climate change and habitat loss3.

The bumblebee bat is now at high risk because of human activity that has destroyed its critical nesting areas4.

The IUCN, the international body which monitors population changes of species, listed the bat as endangered for 12 years until 2008, when it was downlisted to “Vulnerable” after new populations in Thailand and Myanmar were discovered5.

Surveys taken between 1997 and 2008 counted around 10,000 bats in 44 caves in western Thailand and five caves in Myanmar4. A 2009 study indicates that the Thai population of bumblebee bats was estimated at around 45,000 individuals, but very fragile, and restricted to a single province6.

However, the total population of bumblebee bats in Myanmar is still unclear, as security issues prevent researchers from conducting more focused studies. In Thailand, the bumblebee bat population is fragile, and restricted to a single province6.

The only chance this mammal has is if governments improve the protection and management of the bats’ roosting caves, and increase protection for other habitats the species relies on, including foraging areas. These changes could immediately be implemented in Thailand, averting the extinction of the smallest bat on the planet8!

We have the insight to save one of the tiniest mammals on Earth. All we have to do is put this plan for conservation in action.

We must work quickly before the bumblebee bat is lost forever. Help us encourage the Thai government to protect the bumblebee bat before it is too late!

Sign now to tell Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment work to increase conservation efforts of the bumblebee bat and protect the species from extinction!

<ol><li>Animalia (2022), "<a href="https://animalia.bio/kittis-hog-nosed-bat">Kitti’s Hog-Nosed Bat</a>."</li><li>Bryan Nelson, Treehugger (11 April 2022), "<a href="https://www.treehugger.com/smallest-mammals-in-the-world-4869326">11 of the Smallest Mammals in the World</a>."</li><li>ABC News (20 May 2021), "<a href="https://www.abccolumbia.com/2021/05/20/habitat-loss-pesticides-disease-and-climate-change-threaten-bumblebee-species/">Habitat loss, pesticides, disease and climate change threaten bumblebee species</a>."</li><li>Jeremy Hance, Mongabay (13 December 2016), "<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/vanishing-point-bumblebee-bat-is-worlds-smallest-its-also-at-risk/">Vanishing point: Bumblebee bat is world’s smallest; it’s also at risk</a>."</li><li>Slide Blast (2022), "<a href="https://slideblast.com/species-of-the-day-kittis-hog-nosed-bat-iucn-red-list-50_59bc872e1723dd13ed22ee9d.html">Species of the Day: Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat - IUCN Red List 50</a>."</li><li>Endangered Species Research, Sébastien J. Puechmaille, Pipat Soisook, Medhi Yokubol, Piyathip Piyapan, Meriadeg Ar Gouilh, Khin Mie Mie, Khin Khin Kyaw, Iain Mackie, Sara Bumrungsri, Ariya Dejtaradol, Tin Nwe, Si Si Hla Bu, Chutamas Satasook, Paul J. Bates, Emma C. Teeling (27 February 2009), "<a href="http://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2008/theme/bats/batspp6.pdf">Population size, distribution, threats and conservation status of two endangered bat species Craseonycteris thonglongyai and Hipposideros turpis</a>."</li><li>Human Rights Watch (2020), "<a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/myanmar-burma">Myanmar Events of 2020</a>."</li><li>The Zoological Society of London, "<a href="http://www.edgeofexistence.org/species/bumblebee-bat/">170<span data-escaped-char>.</span> Bumblebee bat</a>."</li></ol>

The Petition

<p>To the Thailand Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,</p><p>We know from scientific surveys that there are only several thousand bumblebee bats, also known as Kitti's hog-nosed bats, left in 44 caves in western Thailand. The Thai population of bumblebee bats was last estimated at around 45,000 individuals, but very fragile, and restricted to a single province.</p><p>The bumblebee bat is now at high risk because of human activity that has destroyed its critical nesting areas.</p><p>The roosting caves and forests where the bats forage are also visited by monks who use the caves for meditation, while tourists go to the caves to see the bats themselves.</p><p>The only chance for this mammal is if governments improve the protection and management of the bats' roosting caves, and increase protection for other habitats the species relies on, including foraging areas. These changes could immediately be implemented in your country, averting the extinction of the smallest bat on the planet.</p><p>I implore you to implement measures that reduce the impact of humans on the caves that are critical to the survival of the bumblebee bats, and save this species from extinction.</p><p>Sincerely,</p>