Conservationists say the discovery shows that even small remnants of forest are worth protecting since a rare bat has been found in a tiny fragment of a rainforest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Conservationists from the UK discovered the Ridley's leaf-nosed bat in a 740-acre fragment of forest during a biodiversity survey in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Ridley's leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros ridleyi) roosts in the cavities of trees (in hollows and cavities of standing trees, under fallen trees and logs) and is listed as 'vulnerable' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
The forest fragment is surrounded by a palm oil plantations. These plantations are often created on former forested area, and can encroach into areas that are important habitat for endangered species. Many other species were also found by the biodiversity survey, including the sun bear, tapir, agile gibbon and banded langur, all of which are also of conservation concern.
The effectiveness of emphasizing conservation in small forest fragments has been in doubt, but the researchers say the discovery agrees with an earlier study suggesting it could be a tool for conserving certain species.
"Protecting large areas of connected forest will always be a priority for wildlife conservation, but if ambitious future plans for oil palm expansion are realized, conserving forest fragments within oil pal landscapes will also be important for maintaining Indonesia's biodiversity," said Sophie Persey of the Zoological Society of London.
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