Combating the negative image of bats: The role of wildlife tourism, events and citizen science - A case study of the Spectacled Flying-fox ...
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Combating the negative image of bats:
The role of wildlife tourism, events and
citizen science.
A case study of the Spectacled Flying-fox
Maree Treadwell Kerr and Sera Steves
Wildlife Tourism Australia
Bats and Trees Society of Cairns
Perceptions of Bats are feared and Myths, superstition,
bats misunderstood in many
societies.
prejudice, ignorance, bad
press, portrayal of bats in
movies and literature, even
Bats are seen as: government health warnings
all reinforce negative views
⮚ Scary
toward bats.
⮚ Evil creatures of the night
⮚ Disease carrying Yet the benefits from bats
⮚ Rabies outweigh any negatives. Bats
⮚ Hendra provide pollination, seed
⮚ Covid-19
dispersal and pest control
⮚ Blood sucking vampires
ecoservices.
⮚ Smelly
⮚ Noisy The risk of transmission of
⮚ Orchard raiders disease can be managed.
No touch, No risk
Conserving bats No amount of research will Personal wildlife
conserve bats if we don’t experiences change
have political and attitudes.
community will.
Normalising attitudes
toward bats as part of
our life can create the
community will and
put pressure on
governments.
Changing attitudes Strategies to change Community engagement
attitudes include: can affect attitudes toward
wildlife and assist in
⮚ Community wildlife conflict resolution.
engagement and
education But education alone is not
enough.
⮚ Events
Research shows that prior
⮚ Citizen Science attitudes and underlying
belief systems and values
⮚ Voluntourism affect effectiveness of
education.
⮚ Wildlife Tourism
Breaking down Multiple interpretation
strategies are needed.
Normalising the value
of wildlife and bats to
barriers society is important.
⮚ People listen to people
like them People like to be like
everyone else.
⮚ People learn by doing
⮚ Imagery and story can If most people accept
create empathy bats, views from “bat
haters” will not be
⮚ Messages need to be
legitimised.
positively framed
⮚ Meeting live animals
makes a difference Understand, appreciate, act
⮚ Showing economic value
(eg bat tourism) can
persuade others
Bat Tourism Bat Tourism has been Bats are popular as
around since the guests find the many
around the 18oos. types of bats
world Bat Tourism has
fascinating and the
amazing places they
Bracken Cave, San Antonio, Texas
become particularly live to be wonderful
popular among tourist destinations.
travellers since it was
promoted by Bat
Conservation
International in the
Photo: Jackie Harris
1980s
Bat Tourism in In Australia, we have a Opportunity to create
wonderful diversity of a unique wildlife
Australia both mega and tourism opportunity
microbats, many of for both Australian
which are endemic. and international
tourists.
Many tourists drive to
destinations in Australia Bats are widely
with backpackers and grey distributed throughout
nomads making up the lion
Australia, making them
share of ground-based
tourism. a delightful addition to
a road trip that's
already underway.
The Great An app for travellers and Scenic Rim Flying-foxes
Australian Bat
citizen scientists in Australia
Tourism Trail
A joint project by
Australasian Bat Society and
Wildlife Tourism Australia
The Scenic Rim has ten active camps.
Balancing visitor Three are occupied most of the year:
expectations with bat Canungra (Beechmont Rd), Flinders
conservation Peak and Tamborine National Park.
Other occasional and temporary camps
can be found at times throughout the
region (see map). Refer to the Scenic
Rim Regional council for details of
where and when bats can be seen. View
camps at daytime or watch the evening
Coming to Android soon flyout. Guided wildlife tours featuring
flying-foxes in the Scenic Rim include
Araucaria Ecotours.
ausbattrail@gmail.com
National Events An annual bat-themed program Bat Nights formats:
of community events coordinated ➢ Bat walks
by the Australasian Bat Society. ➢ Bat talks
Partnering with ➢ Meeting live bats
➢ LandCare groups ➢ Flying-fox Fly-out viewing
➢ Bat care groups
➢ Bat Film nights
➢ Field Naturalists
➢ Local Government ➢ School bat fairs
➢ National Parks and zoos ➢ Bat parties
➢ Museums and galleries ➢ Bat Box projects
➢ ABS members
➢ Schools ➢ Bat Festivals
➢ Field trips
➢ Boat cruises
➢ Exhibitions
The Spectacled Flying- Bats and Trees Society of Cairns We work with bat carers,
(BatSoc) was formed in 2017. It conservation groups and
Fox and BatSoc carries out: governments and engage
➢ Community and school with the community to
education and engagement conserve the Spectacled
➢ Public events flying-fox and enable people
➢ Annual Bat Festival to live peacefully with all
➢ Citizen science projects bats.
➢ Supports Bat carers
➢ Advocacy and fundraising
➢ Consultation with
governments
➢ Is a member of the
Spectacled Flying-fox
Recovery TeamBat Chats Bat Chats held each school The Spectacled Flying-fox
holiday weekend evening Camp at the library grounds,
Cairns CBD has always been
Promoted by Cairns Council
popular with international and
Trained Volunteers interpret interstate tourists.
flying-fox behaviour before and
during the evening flyout Providing interpretation with
the BatChat program adds
Attracts up to 100+ people value to the experience.
Since the dispersal of the
library camp, Bat chats is
moving to a new home and
engaging with QuestaGame to
provide an interpretive Bat
Trail on Cairns Esplanade.Cairns Bat Festival Annual Cairns Bat Festival 2021 Cairns Bat festival
➢ Part of Australasian Bat night ➢ Drummed in by local
➢ Major BatSoc community drumming school
engagement event ➢ Blessing ceremony
➢ Supported by Cairns ➢ Welcome to country and talk
Regional Council on valuing flying-foxes
➢ Caters for all ages ➢ Local musicians
➢ Local performers and guest ➢ Microbat talk and walk
speakers ➢ Expert guest speaker
➢ Local Venues supporting ➢ Face painting and bat glitter
Cairns economy tattoos and projected images
➢ Crawl through Bat Sculpture
➢ Bats on stilts
➢ Bat- themed food and drinkBats at EcoFiesta
#Cocktails for conservation What in the heck does a bat have
Flying foxtail trail to do with cocktails? Bats
Engaged 15 local businesses to
feature a Flying Foxtail ➢ pollinate sugar cane and
Each business hands out “Bat tequila
Passports”. Patrons collect a ➢ disperse seeds of fruits
stamp from each participating ➢ pollinate fruit orchards
venue and can win a prize! ➢ control insect populations
which keep grain and other
Ran over two weeks
ingredient crops healthy
Your drink would not be possible
Incorporated businesses along without bats!!
The foxtail trail
a walking path from our host
➢ inspires conversations about bats Bat Night venue to the venue
➢ a sideways form of community of Eco-fiesta that took place
engagement and education the following day. A few were
➢ lightens the mood of the subject off the path, imitating the
➢ promotes the Bat Festival feeding behaviours of Flying
➢ gets businesses to back bats and Foxes!
create a unique identity for CairnsThe Virtual Bat - Experience up close and personal Upside down the virtual way Augmented reality V
Save Our Spectacled The project aims to: Data is collected through:
Flying-Fox Watch project ➢ Engage the community to record ➢ Survey Monkey
sightings of flying-foxes ➢ EpiCollect
➢ Collect data on flying-fox roosting
and foraging ecology from field ➢ iNaturalist
researchers and land managers ➢ QuestaGame
➢ Fill in information gaps on ecology ➢ Official and informal
and movements
records from ecologists,
➢ Identify critical roosting &
foraging habitat naturalists, other
➢ Protect vital maternity camps researchers, wildlife
through habitat restoration to carers and land managers.
mitigate impacts from future
heatwaves
➢ Inform conservation actions to
guide recovery
This project is supported through a Qld
In November 2018, 23,000 spectacled
Government Community Sustainability
flying-foxes (around ⅓ of the Australian https://www.surveymonkey.co
Grant, Protecting Queensland’s
population) died in one heat wave. We Threatened Species. m/r/2C7BMN8
want to ensure this does not happen again.Spectacled Flying-Fox SFF uplisted to endangered 2019 The team comprises ecologists,
social scientists, environmental
Recovery Team No changes to legislation or
lawyers, animal welfare experts,
management to conserve it
bat carers, community and
2010 Recovery Plan has expired
conservation groups, traditional
Actions never implemented owners and government
No measurable objectives representatives.
SFF not a priority for a new plan
So far, the new team has
nominated the SFF to critically
Recovery Team created late 2020 endangered, and is drafting a
Objective to develop a new new recovery plan. The
Recovery Plan and implement Conservation Advice has been
conservation actions to recover updated to include heat stress as
the species an existing threat.
Community engagement has
been recognised as vital to the
recovery.You can also read
