There is only one land mammal native to the Hawaiian Islands — the Hawaiian hoary bat.
There is only one land mammal native to the Hawaiian Islands — the Hawaiian hoary bat.
Tonight’s the night, if you ever wanted to know about this cute critter endemic to the Hawaiian Archipelago that does not naturally occur anywhere else in the world.
Frank Bonnaccorso, Ph.D., will give a lecture on the island bat — called ‘Ope‘ape‘a in Hawaiian — which lives on several of the major islands, including Hawaii. The program will be at 7 p.m. at the Mokupapapa Discovery Center in the Hata building at 308 Kamehameha Ave. in downtown Hilo.
Bonnaccorso has been studying bats for almost 40 years and has been involved in researching, monitoring and the conservation of the Hawaiian bat since 2004. The lecture by Bonnaccorso will include information concerning population trends, migration and theories on how the bat was able to establish a population in the Hawaiian Islands, along with other topics.
The Hawaiian bat is known to naturally occur in habitats that range from sea level into the rain forest.
If the weather permits, there will be an excursion to the nearby Hilo High School track immediately after the lecture in an attempt to to track some bats and listen to their acoustic signals. The lecture is being sponsored by the Friends of the Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge and is free and open to the public. Visit www.friendsof hakalau.org.