Bat Fest '08
The 4th Annual Bat Festival held October 25, 2008, shattered previous attendance records by bringing in over 1,300 visitors. Although the event was held during the University of Florida Homecoming weekend, the bats once again proved to be the real stars of the night. Bat Fest '08 was the first year we had food vendors and partnered with BloodSouth, whose Blood mobile was on site. At the festival, tours and talks, kids activities and live didgeridoo music entertained visitors, adding a global feel to the festivities. Lubee Bat Conservancy is already planning on making this year's festival bigger; including more child-friendly activities and hosting additional vendors. The 2009 Annual Bat Festival will be held Saturday, October 10, 2009. If you missed the fun last year, don't make the same mistake twice! Mark your calendar for Bat Fest'09, join our mailing list and/or visit our web site, and we will notify you of Bat Fest'09 developments.
Filming for Webosaurs
Lubee hosted Nigel Marven for two days, filming educational "Webosodes" for Webosaurs - a social gaming platform for children ages 6-10 where 3D avatar customization, in-world exploration, virtual battles and action-packed games are combined to create the ultimate interactive experience.
www.webosaurs.com. Webosaurs also seeks to promote environmental awareness and education by implementing various in-world campaigns which encourage children to support eco-friendly causes.
New Look Lubee Web Site
Please visit our new look website by clicking on the image below!
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Development of an artificial insemination protocol in the flying-fox (Pteropus spp.)
Cooling experiments were conducted using semen collected from several different flying-fox species held in captivity at the Lubee Bat Conservancy in a research study by Debbie Melville from Queensland University (Australia) and Dr Linda Penfold,from White Oaks Conservation Center (Florida). Analysis of the sperm membrane will provide an insight into its fragility during attempts to cool sperm to permit artificial insemination. A key element to this collaborative study was the availability of Pteropus species held outside Australia. Analysis of the data has only just started; however, it appears that there are male-male differences and species differences of the sperm membranes. |
 Friends of the Fanihi Fanihi is the local name given to the only flying foxes to reside on US Territory (the island of Guam) in the Pacific Ocean, and islands closeby, including Rota, Saipan and isles known as the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. The CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) biologist on Rota and local NGO, Rota Conservation and Ecotourism (RCE), participated in the annual Island Fiesta of San Francisco de Borja in October 2008. The Fiesta provided a celebratory atmosphere where conservation awareness for the Mariana fruit was raised by handing out T- shirts, caps, stickers and education materials produced with funding from Lubee. The t-shirts are proudly worn by locals and have even been sighted on Guam and Saipan. The shirts stimulate conversation about the bats whenever they are worn.
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For the Love of Bats
Ever wonder what it's like to spend your day working alongside 250 bats? Lubee Bat Conservancy's expert staff of animal keepers would like to tell you all about it. By following the link to Keeper Diaries Blog, you will read articles written by the keeping staff discussing everything from a typical day, to a tense situation involving a challenging bat birth. Lubee keepers practice all aspects of animal care: basic animal husbandry, training, enrichment, education, and research. Learn how getting to know an individual bat's personality translates into better management, and how each bat needs special care and attention.
A Ray of Sunshine
A Little Golden-mantled Flying Fox (Pteropus pumilus) named Sunshine or "Sunny'" was born 19 June 2008. He was rejected by his mother and the decision was made to hand raise him. He has done well throughout the entire hand-rearing process and our keepers taught him to fly. He is currently fully integrated into a male colony.
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The Pemba Flying Fox (Pteropus voeltzkowi)
A once critically endangered bat species, the 'Pemba flying fox', has made a dramatic return from the brink of extinction, according to new research. As recently as 1989, only a scant few individual fruit bats could be observed on the tropical island of Pemba, off Tanzania. Due to a community based conservation program initiated with funding provided to FFI by Lubee, it's numbers have soared to an astounding 22,000 bats in less than 20 years, the new research finds. Continue reading this article from Science Daily |
