Rousettus leschenaultii

Habitat. Hilly regions with evergreen, semi-evergreen, and deciduous forests (Northern Western Ghats, India) and tropical rainforest (Yunnan, China). Leschenault’s Rousette seems very sensitive to human-induced habitat disturbance and to prefer high relative humidity in roosting sites.

Sumber: Pteropodidae

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Leschenault’s Rousette appears to share roosts with other bat species. Colonies can have more than 10,000 individuals that form compact clusters and include adults and young, occupying high corners of caves. Individuals constantly change their positions in a cluster. Genetic studies including mitochondrial and microsatellite loci showed little demographic structure across sites from India to Vietnam and China. This pattern suggests high levels of gene flow among colonies.

Sumber: Pteropodidae

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Leschenault’s Rousette is widely distributed, population is presumably very large, and it tolerates habitat disturbance, so it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to be listed in a more threatened category. Nevertheless, it is locally threatened by hunting (for consumption and medicinal uses) and human disturbance at roosting sites (mining, tourism and other activities). Across South Asia, Leschenault’s Rousette is classified as vermin and persecuted by humans using poisoning, fumigation, and stoning.

Sumber: Pteropodidae