Bats as food are eaten by people in parts of some North American, [1] Asian, African, Pacific Rim countries, [2] and cultures, including the United States, China, [3] Vietnam, Seychelles, the Philippines, [4] [5] [6] Indonesia, [7] Palau, Thailand, [8] and Guam. [9] [10] Half the megabat (fruit bat) species are hunted for food but only eight percent of the insectivorous bat species are. [11] In Guam, Mariana fruit bats (Pteropus mariannus) are considered a delicacy. [12] [13]
Bats have likely been consumed as a food source since prehistoric times in the Asia-Pacific region. Chronostratigraphic analysis of archaeological sites indicate that bats could have been exploited as a food source since 74,000 years ago by Homo floresiensis . On tropical islands, hunting large fruit bats was a worthwhile expenditure for prehistoric hominins. These megabats could be easily captured in caves in large numbers, and processing effort was also minimal. [14]
Bats have been hunted by Aboriginal Australians for thousands of years, extending into modern times. Popular game species are the black flying fox and the little red flying fox. In 1997, it was estimated that the Aboriginal people of the Top End consumed 180,000 flying foxes each year. [15]
While it has been suggested that the Taíno people of Puerto Rico consumed bat meat in pre-Columbian times, no bat bones have been documented in their midden heaps, making it unlikely that bat meat was a substantial dietary component. No other New World cultures are thought to have hunted bats for meat, though bat bones have been identified in midden heaps on the Caribbean island of Saba. [16] [17]
The consumption of bat meat in Europe has been scarce, not only because of repugnance, but also because of the size of European bats, which being all insectivores are also small. [18] In the past it has been recorded the custom of the peasants of Costozza (in the province of Vicenza, Italy) to eat bats, [19] especially horseshoe bats. [20] [18] After World War II the bats of Costozza's caves were almost extinct "for the ruthless hunting that the natives make of them, at the time of the grape, in order to assimilate them with the most tasty little birds." [21] In 1959 it was reported that "in some places [of Italy], for example in Liguria and Veneto regions, the bats are or were used as food." [22]
In the Torah and in the Bible, the book of Leviticus (11:13–19) forbids consumption of bat: "These you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: (...) the bat."
In the Geographica of Strabo it is described the city of Borsippa (now Birs Nimrud in Iraq), where there was a large number of bats captured by the inhabitants, who "salad them to eat them". [18] In the sixteenth century Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi refers in his treatise Ornitologia that bats have a white meat, edible, and excellent flavor. [18]
At least 167 species of bats are hunted around the world, or about 13% of all bat species, for reasons including food, perceived medical value, for hide or teeth, or for sport. [11] Some species are hunted for food more often than others: Half of all megabat species are hunted for food, in comparison to only eight percent of insectivorous species. [11] A 2016 review documented hunting of bats for meat or traditional medicine in North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, South America, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and West and Central Asia. [11] In contrast, it recorded no species hunted for meat or traditional medicine in the Caribbean, Europe, North America, Mesoamerica, or North Asia. [11]
At least 55 species of bat are hunted in Africa, though larger bats are preferred targets and small, insectivorous species are considered less desirable. Bat hunting is most prevalent in West and Central Africa. [11] It has been estimated that 100,000 bats are sold annually in Ghana. [23] In Southern Africa and East Africa, there is little to no hunting. The four species of bats hunted in Northern Africa are used for traditional medicine purposes, not for meat. [11]
Abundant and larger-bodied species are more frequently consumed in Africa, including the straw-coloured fruit bat, Franquet's epauletted fruit bat, the Gambian epauletted fruit bat, the hammer-headed bat, and Egyptian fruit bat. Medium-sized bats like the Angolan rousette and Peters's dwarf epauletted fruit bat are also consumed, as well as small species like the large slit-faced bat, horseshoe bats, and roundleaf bats. [11]
Humans hunt 64 species of bats in Asia, though the intensity of hunting varies by region. [11] In Southeast Asia, bats are widely hunted in ten of the eleven countries, excluding only Singapore. [11] About 17% of bat species are hunted in Southeast Asia, or 56 species. [11] The Philippines have especially high levels of hunting, with a third of bat species in the Philippines subject to hunting despite legal protections such as the Philippine Wildlife Act and Philippine Cave Management Act, which are poorly enforced. [11] In the Philippines, especially Mayantoc, in the province of Tarlac, eating fruit bats as part of their regional cuisine is very common, locals went bat hunting and caught several dozens of bats in one trip, these cave creatures were skinned, beheaded, and de-winged; they were then gutted, chopped up, and stewed. [4] [5] [6] In some Malaysian cities, bats are seen as a luxury meat. [7] Back in 2001, it was reported that 7% of households in Thailand's Phu Kheio Wildlife Sanctuary ate bat meat. [7] Consumption is particularly intense in North Sulawesi, where locals eat flying fox meat at least once a month, with a tenfold increase in frequency near Christian holidays. [24]
In South Asia, hunting bats for food occurs in Bangladesh by tribal groups, specifically targeting larger bat species. [11] A 2017 survey of over 140 villages in Bangladesh found that bats were hunted in 49% of villages, with the majority of hunters (62%) using hunted bats for food and medicine. In contrast, 30% of hunters used hunted bats for food, but not medicine, while 17% used them for medicine, but not food. [25] While bats are killed in India and Pakistan, consumption is reported to be infrequent, and perceived medicinal uses are more common motives. [11] A few studies though state that bat meat consumption is more common in certain parts of India such as the Northeast, [26] the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. [7]
In East Asia, specifically southern China, bats are sometimes eaten and can be found in some markets. [3] Specific bat species eaten in China include the cave nectar bat, Pomona roundleaf bat, Indian flying fox, and Leschenault's rousette. [11] Additionally, the greater short-nosed fruit bat is hunted for medicine, but not food. [11] Bat meat is not especially popular in China. [27] [28] [29] According to a research conducted by Guansheng Ma, director of Nutrition and Gastronomy at the University of Beijing, "...eating bat meat is more than rare in China. It is actually unacceptable in Chinese culture." [30] It has been contested whether or not the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, suspected as having ties with the COVID-19 outbreak, sold bat meat, [31] [32] where the meat is reportedly not a frequent food source in the city of Wuhan. [33] [34] [35] Some media outlets, including Daily Mail and RT, promoted a video that showed a young Chinese woman eating a bat and suggested it was shot in Wuhan, but later it was confirmed that the footage was filmed by travel vlogger Wang Mengyun in the island country of Palau in 2016, to showcase local cuisine. [28] [36] International agencies pressured China to adopt legislation forbidding the hunting of bats and sale of bat meat following the early 2000s SARS outbreak where hundreds of people died, though no such legislation was passed. [3] All wildlife trade in China, including bat meat, was banned in January 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic which originated in Wuhan. [37] [38] [39]
Bats are occasionally eaten in North American cuisine. [40]
Bats are regularly hunted and consumed in Oceania, and are the only native land mammals of many isolated islands. About 23% of Oceania's bat species are hunted, or 40 species. Bat meat is considered a delicacy in the Cook Islands, Niue, Guam, the Mariana Islands, and Samoa. It is popularly consumed in Fiji, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. [11]
Though bat diversity in South America is especially high, bats are rarely consumed. Some indigenous peoples may consume bats, with the Nambiquara people known to consume three species of leaf-nosed bat. Live bats are sold in Bolivia for purported medicinal uses. Specifically, consuming the bats' blood is believed to treat epilepsy. [41] A 2010 study documented that per month, 3,000 bats were sold in markets in four Bolivian cities. Species sold in these markets include Seba's short-tailed bats, mouse-eared bats, and common vampire bats. [42] [43]
In the Philippines, especially Mayantoc, Tarlac, [4] locals eat a dish called Bat adobo. Locals catch and kill several dozen megabats per hunting trip; the bats are then skinned, beheaded, and de-winged before they are gutted, chopped, and stewed. Guava is used to tenderize the meat, which is later seasoned and sautéed with onions, garlic, and soy sauce—not much different from the usual Philippine adobo. [5] [6]
Paniki is a Minahasan dish from North Sulawesi, Indonesia, made from fruit bats. Soups, stews and curries using bat meat are also prepared. [9]
In Palau, bat soup is considered a delicacy. [44] Fruit bats are used in a Palauan soup that includes coconut milk, spices and ginger. [44]
Hot pot made with whole bat is available in some restaurants in southern China. [45]
Bat stew is a stew prepared from various types of bats. [9] [46] Fruit bats are used in some versions of the dish. [46] Estufa de morcego is a bat stew delicacy in the cuisine of São Tomé and Príncipe that is served on saints days and during fiestas. [47]
The 1999 version of The Oxford Companion to Food states that the flavor of fruit bats is similar to that of chicken, and that they are "clean animals living exclusively on fruit". [9] Bats are prepared in several manners, such as grilled, barbecued, deep fried, cooked in stews and in stir frys. [9] When deep fried, the entire bat may be cooked and consumed. [9]
Detailed information of the nutritional and chemical composition of bat meat is not available as of 2012. [48] In many developing countries, bushmeat, including bat meat, is considered a major nutritional resource, including for micronutrients. [49] One study in Madagascar predicted that the rate of childhood anemia would increase 29% if access to bushmeat, including bat meat, was restricted, predominantly affecting the poorest households who could not afford to purchase meat from domestic animals. [50]
Bats are most vulnerable to overhunting in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and islands of Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Bats are susceptible to overhunting as they have naturally low rates of reproduction and many species are highly colonial, which makes it easier for them to be hunted in large numbers. [43] Overhunting is believed to be the primary cause of extinction for the small Mauritian flying fox and the Guam flying fox. [51]
It has been speculated that megabats may be the natural reservoir of Ebolavirus , [52] though the evidence has been called "far from decisive". [53] Due to the possible association between Ebola infection and "hunting, butchering and processing meat from infected animals", several West African countries banned bushmeat (including megabats) or issued warnings about it during the 2013–2016 epidemic; many bans have since been lifted. [54] Bats have been hypothesized as a possible origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first detected in Wuhan, China, though the origin of the virus has yet to be fully elucidated. Importantly, some people propagate the 'bat soup' idea in racist targeting of Asian people, and it is therefore imperative to recognize the lack of evidence regarding this theory. [55] [56] [57]
Eating fruit bats is also linked to a neurological disease called lytico-bodig disease. Paul Alan Cox from the Hawaiian National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kalaheo, and Oliver Sacks from Albert Einstein College in New York, found the bats consumed large quantities of cycad seeds and appear to accumulate the toxins to dangerous levels in their meat. [58]
Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera Acerodon and Pteropus—flying foxes. They are the only member of the superfamily Pteropodoidea, which is one of two superfamilies in the suborder Yinpterochiroptera. Internal divisions of Pteropodidae have varied since subfamilies were first proposed in 1917. From three subfamilies in the 1917 classification, six are now recognized, along with various tribes. As of 2018, 197 species of megabat had been described.
Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tropical forest regions in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Bushmeat is an important food resource in poor, rural communities.
The giant golden-crowned flying fox, also known as the golden-capped fruit bat, is a species of megabat endemic to the Philippines. Since its description in 1831, three subspecies of the giant golden-crowned flying fox have been recognized, one of which is extinct. The extinct subspecies was formerly recognized as a full species, the Panay golden-crowned flying fox. Formerly, this species was placed in the genus Pteropus; while it is no longer within the genus, it has many physical similarities to Pteropus megabats. It is one of the largest bat species in the world, weighing up to 1.4 kg (3.1 lb)—only the Indian and great flying fox can weigh more. It has the longest documented forearm length of any bat species at 21 cm (8.3 in).
The Philippine naked-backed fruit bat or Philippine bare-backed fruit bat is a megabat that mostly lives on Negros Island. Two small populations were also found on Cebu Island in the Philippines. Like other bare-backed fruit bats, its wings meet along the midline of their bodies, making it a very agile flier. It roosted in caves, in areas where little light penetrated the gloom. It was so abundant once that it left piles of guano, which were used by miners as fertilizer.
The Mariana fruit bat, also known as the Mariana flying fox, and the fanihi in Chamorro, is a megabat found only in the Mariana Islands and Ulithi. Habitat loss has driven it to endangered status, and it is listed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Poaching, habitat loss, and the introduction of invasive species have contributed to the species' decline.
Pteropus is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, East Africa, and some oceanic islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There are at least 60 extant species in the genus.
Cat meat is meat prepared from domestic cats for human consumption. Some countries serve cat meat as a regular food, whilst others have only consumed cat meat in desperation, i.e. during wartime, famine or poverty.
The black flying fox or black fruit bat is a bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is among the largest bats in the world, but is considerably smaller than the largest species in its genus, Pteropus. The black flying fox is native to Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. It is not a threatened species.
The hammer-headed bat, also known as hammer-headed fruit bat, big-lipped bat, and hammerhead bat, is a megabat widely distributed in West and Central Africa. It is the only member of the genus Hypsignathus, which is part of the tribe Epomophorini along with four other genera. It is the largest bat in continental Africa, with wingspans approaching 1 m (3.3 ft), and males almost twice as heavy as females. Males and females also greatly differ in appearance, making it the most sexually dimorphic bat species in the world. These differences include several adaptations that help males produce and amplify vocalizations: the males' larynges are about three times as large as those of females, and they have large resonating chambers on their faces. Females appear more like a typical megabat, with foxlike faces.
The straw-coloured fruit bat is a large fruit bat that is the most widely distributed of all the African megabats. It is quite common throughout its area ranging from the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, across forest and savanna zones of sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List due to a decreasing population trend. Straw-coloured fruit bats travel in massive colonies of at least 100,000 bats and sometimes massing up to 1 million. From October to end of December every year, in the largest migration of mammals on the planet, up to 10 million straw-coloured fruit bats congregate in Kasanka National Park, Zambia, roosting in a 2 hectare area of Mushitu forest each day. This migration was only discovered in 1980. Their necks and backs are a yellowish-brown colour, while their undersides are tawny olive or brownish.
The Javan tailless fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Indonesia.
The Ryukyu flying fox or Ryukyu fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Japan, Taiwan, and the Batanes and Babuyan Islands of the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss and by hunting for food and the IUCN classify it as "Vulnerable".
The large flying fox, also known as the greater flying fox, Malayan flying fox, Malaysian flying fox, large fruit bat, kalang, or kalong, is a southeast Asian species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. Despite its scientific name, it feeds exclusively on fruits, nectar, and flowers, like the other flying foxes of the genus Pteropus. It is noted for being one of the largest bats. As with nearly all other Old World fruit bats, it lacks the ability to echolocate but compensates for it with well-developed eyesight.
Yewei is a Southern Chinese term that describes various types of game meat, including bushmeat from exotic wild animals.
The bat virome is the group of viruses associated with bats. Bats host a diverse array of viruses, including all seven types described by the Baltimore classification system: (I) double-stranded DNA viruses; (II) single-stranded DNA viruses; (III) double-stranded RNA viruses; (IV) positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses; (V) negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses; (VI) positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses that replicate through a DNA intermediate; and (VII) double-stranded DNA viruses that replicate through a single-stranded RNA intermediate. The greatest share of bat-associated viruses identified as of 2020 are of type IV, in the family Coronaviridae.
Liberian cuisine refers to the cuisine of Liberia. It is centered on the consumption of rice, cassava, plantain, yam, tropical fruits and vegetables, as well as fish, meat, and more.
Monkey meat is the flesh and other edible parts derived from monkeys, a kind of bushmeat. Human consumption of monkey meat has been historically recorded in numerous parts of the world, including multiple Asian and African nations. Monkey meat consumption has been reported in parts of Europe and the Americas as well.
Human uses of bats include economic uses such as bushmeat or in traditional medicine. Bats are also used symbolically in religion, mythology, superstition, and the arts. Perceived medical uses of bats include treating epilepsy in South America, night blindness in China, rheumatism, asthma, chest pain, and fever in South Asia. Bat meat is consumed in Oceania, Australia, Asia, and Africa, with about 13% of all species hunted for food. Other economic uses of bats include using their teeth as currency on the island of Makira.
Wildlife trafficking practices have resulted in the emergence of zoonotic diseases. Exotic wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry that involves the removal and shipment of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and fish all over the world. Traded wild animals are used for bushmeat consumption, unconventional exotic pets, animal skin clothing accessories, home trophy decorations, privately owned zoos, and for traditional medicine practices. Dating back centuries, people from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe have used animal bones, horns, or organs for their believed healing effects on the human body. Wild tigers, rhinos, elephants, pangolins, and certain reptile species are acquired through legal and illegal trade operations in order to continue these historic cultural healing practices. Within the last decade nearly 975 different wild animal taxa groups have been legally and illegally exported out of Africa and imported into areas like China, Japan, Indonesia, the United States, Russia, Europe, and South America.
The Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, simply known as the Huanan Seafood Market, was a live animal and seafood market in Jianghan District, Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, in Central China.
Bats are not specifically protected in China and many species are eaten, especially in southern China, where bats are found regularly in markets (Mickleburgh et al. 2009) (Table 12.1, Appendix). Requests from international agencies following the SARS outbreak, (which resulted in several hundred human deaths) that wildlife legislation be introduced in China prohibiting inter alia hunting and sale of bats have been ignored.
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)The seafood market at the center of the investigation also sold live animals such as poultry, bats, marmots, and snakes.
Some of the earliest infections were found in people who had exposure to Wuhan's seafood market, where bats, snakes, civets and other wildlife were sold
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)Bats are still thought to be the original host of the virus.
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