MARIANAS FRUIT BAT

THE FRUIT BAT ALSO KNOWN AS THE MARIANAS FLYING FOX.

This is a bat, not a fox, but the facial resemblance suggests why the name. These were a favorite delicacy of the locals too, as the coconut crab, but are no longer taken legally. Following are a few excerpts about the bats.......

The fruit bat, once a popular delicacy on this Pacific Island, is now on a list of threatened animals.The early 1980s were heady times for a lot of people, but not so good for fruit bats, which are skinned and put into a soup, or else boiled and eaten fur and all. The bats must have been pretty easy prey and Pacific Islanders must have been pretty hungry, as so many fruit bats were eaten that the species is now on the federal list of "threatened" animals and is therefore protected by legislation. On Saipan, the Northern Mariana Islands' most populated island and home to the indigenous Chamorro peoples, there are so few fruit bats left that those remaining are too small in number to constitute a "population," Still, though, it is often the case here that when a fruit bat is spotted in the wild by someone familiar with Chamorro traditional fare, "It's killed and eaten,"........So don't try dining on this little fellow or you may end up eating spam in the local jail. So that's my little lesson for the day.... Now you have a very nice day... .........GED..........