Feds Say Hawaiian Hoary Bats Aren’t Endangered Despite Unresolved Questions… Wind farm developers are funding millions of dollars of research that’s helping scientists better understand Hawaii’s imperiled bats.
When the furry, rodent-sized Hawaiian hoary bat was declared an endangered species in 1970, little was known about where in the islands it dwelled or what the species required to survive.
The nocturnal night-flyer leaves its roost in the trees only after dark to consume 40% of its body weight in bugs, making its whereabouts difficult to map and its population difficult to count.
But thanks to millions of dollars of recent research funded by the wind farms that threaten the species, scientists now know that the solitary, highly mobile bat roosts, breeds and forages on all of the major Hawaiian islands. It’s also known to visit Lanai and Kahoolawe. A four-year study completed in 2011 suggests that the Big Island population is stable or growing.