Research Paper

The World’s Smallest Problem

Throughout the many species of animal that are now going extinct/endangered, there is one animal that has a record for being the smallest mammal in the world that is slowly but surely dying off. This well known animal is called the Bumblebee bat. Therefore, even though the bumblebee bat is very cute, it should not be mainly focused on to save. The Craseonycteris thonglongyai (mostly known as the bumblebee bat) is certainly not just your regular old neighborhood bat. (Bumblebee bat is the world's smallest; it’s also at risk) The Bumblebee bat is mostly known for its petite and adorable size. Given their name, it is quite obvious that they are as small as a bumblebee as most bumblebee bats are known to be about 29-33 mm long. They were one of the first well known bat species , originating from the Oriental Region of the world, near the southern border of Thailand. (Bumblebee bat is world’s smallest; it’s also at risk)

Description

The coloration of this species is mostly darker shades to help them lurk in the shadows of their most preferred homes; caves. They range from a deep red or to a dark gray making them a little more difficult to notice. The bumblebee bat spends most of its life (approximately 5-10 years) in a cave, occasionally they will leave but never too far from their home. They also locate around their environment by using echo-location. (Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan-Museum of Zoology)

Knowingly, there are not many Bumblebee bat’s left, one of the main reasons for that is that they don't reproduce as often as others. Bumblebee bats have at most one offspring every year so they keep together in smaller groups. As though they keep together to not be spotted, Bumblebee bats are found and caught for their meat, because they are exquisite food in the Oriental Region. Which supports the theory that they can go extinct in a short period of time.

Habitat

Soisook has had the pleasure of seeing many bumblebee bats in the wild, where they generally live in small colonies; they refrain from crowding together like many other bat species. When you see the bats in a cave, he said, these miniature mammals “just look like black spots on the cave wall, and you may not realize they are actually bats without going in close enough. As you may have realized, the Bumblebee bats habitat is mostly dark areas in close range of each other to caution against predators. This tiny bat is threatened by human disruptions both inside its roosting caves, and in the forests where it forages. Conservationists say that monks using the caves for meditation, drug users escaping to caves for a fix, and tourists driven by the desire to see the bats, have all negatively impacted the species. Indeed, some grottos have been turned into “show caves,” leading to the destruction of bat habitat. They don't have to adapt to their habitats since they spend most of their life in caves. But if they have any interruptions, (most from humans) they would have to learn to defend themselves better by going deeper in caves or by having to find a completely new home if destroyed.

Diet

Bumblebee bats forage in the bamboo forest canopies around their caves to find food. They mainly feast on insects. They prefer to fly and forage along the tops of the bamboo trees. Bats will collect insects, and sometimes even spiders, either by catching them mid-flight or nibbling them off leaves. As insectivores, they can be beneficial for humans as they can help control insect pests in the area. (Animals That Use Echolocation) They prefer to fly and forage along the tops of the bamboo trees. Currently, nothing is known about the predators of bumblebee bats animal wise, but humans are known to try exotic food including the BumbleBee bat’s (mainly people in the Oriental Region.) Especially due to small numbers and size they most likely wouldn’t be much of a meal to many other animals. Which is better to help protect them, since we know we’re the main source of predator to the animal, that can be easily prevented from continuing. (Burton and Burton)

Reproduction

Not too much is known about the Bumblebee bat reproduction cycle but researchers say they can estimate that they have about one offspring every year. Their average time until the babies become independent takes about one year, which slows down the process even more (Animal Diversity). Due to the Bumblebee bat’s poor reproductive situation they only reproduce once a year, so it slows down the growth in the species. Every year many Bumblebee bats are being intruded by outside organisms or being eaten by humans. So their population is declining faster than they are able to grow. Which is why their life span only goes up to approximately 5-10 years. Even though there is not that much information on these tiny animals, scientists do know that they seem to disappear more and more often. Now the Bumblebee bats aren’t the only bats in the world but their significance means a lot because they are known worldwide as the smallest mammal in the world(Animal Diversity).

Issues

The Bumblebee bat is threatened due to the many various things harming them. Mostly specifically is particularly human disruption sort of such as tourists, monks, and drug dealers, which is fairly significant. Now the tourist situation that intrudes the bat’s caves could either actually seem definitely much worse or not as bad as the monks and drug dealers, or so they actually thought. Knowingly since tourists have to really modify the caves so it particularly looks generally more presentable, it chips away more and much more of the bat’s habitat, which is quite significant. The smokes and fumes inside the caves that are caused by the monks and drug dealers basically are also just as harmful as destroying their homes, or so they particularly thought. (Vanishing point: Bumblebee bats are the world’s smallest; it’s also at risk) Not only are they mostly being attacked for all sorts of reasons by humans, but there is also rapid deforestation due to agricultural expansion which is the cause of most species fleeing. Since there essentially was much concern over the number of Bumblebee Bats declining they particularly are now being protected and conserved in Thailand to hopefully salvage some hope of them becoming a stable species again, very contrary to popular belief. The recorded observation of their population from 2020 stated there were only 6,600 left in a subtle way. Since this particular animal mainly keeps to itself not much is known about it in the wild unless they are in captivity (The Rainforest Site News) in a big way.

Preservation Plan

Throughout the years, as the Bumblebee bat species has slowly been declining not much has been affected. The Bumblebee bat has not been a major part in the environment or the food web itself, it is more of an isolated animal. Wildlife preserves have been keeping this animal in captivity in hopes of keeping the species intact, but with all the other animals throughout the world, is it really worth saving? (Vanishing Point) If the Bumblebee bat went extinct, there would not be a negative impact on anything that feasts on them since the animal is too small to be a main food source for any animals. Not much is known on the expenses that is required to maintain the Bumblebee bat in a safe community but we shouldn’t base all of our dedication on a bat only known for its size. (Animal Diversity)

Works Cited

Burns, Alexandra. “ Craseonycteris thonglongyai: bumblebee bat.“ Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan-Museum of Zoology, 2013, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Craseonycteris_thonglongyai/. 8 Feb. 2021.

Elizabeth, A. (2019, November 22). Bumblebee Bat Facts. Sciencing. https://sciencing.com/bumblebee-bat-6005965.html

Datta, Sreela. “Animals That Use Echolocation.” Sciencing, 24 April 2018, https://sciencing.com/animals-use-echolocation-8576794.html, Access date 8 March 2021.