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The Collections of the Two Natives, Near Threatened Pteropid Species in Peninsular 69
The Collections of the Two Natives, Near Threatened Pteropid Species in Peninsular Malaysia by 69
Malaysia by the Institute for Medical Research, Malaysia: The Large Flying Fox (Pteropus
the Institute for Medical Research, Malaysia: The Large Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus) and
vampyrus) and Island Flying Fox (Pteropus hypomelanus)
Island Flying Fox (Pteropus hypomelanus)

successfully produces and raises young, if the population's mortality rate exceeds
22% annually, it will steadily decline (McIlwee & Martin, 2002). The third factor
is overhunting. In Peninsular Malaysia, an estimated 22,000 flying foxes are
legally hunted each year (Epstein et al., 2009). Legal and illegal culling by
farmers can also dramatically reduce flying fox populations. Flying foxes are
often considered destructive pests to orchard crops hence are shot, beaten to death,
or poisoned to reduce their populations (Aziz et al., 2017a; Florens & Baider,
2019).

In view of multiple threats faced by the flying foxes, the Redlist of Mammals for
Peninsular Malaysia, 2017 (PERHILITAN, 2017) has classified P. vampyrus and
P. hypomelanus as endangered in recent years (IUCN, 2020). In addition, The
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora
(CITES) lists the two Pteropus species under Appendix II, which describes
species as vulnerable to extinction unless closely controlled by restricted
international trade (CITES, 2020). Nevertheless, individual species have different
legal protections from hunting and domestic trade that reflects the environmental
laws varies across countries. For example, all flying foxes are absolutely
protected from harm under the Wildlife Preservation and Security Act of 2012,
Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance of 1937, and Wildlife Protection and
Reservation Act of 1992 in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Thailand; respectively
(Aziz et al., 2016). These legislations strictly prohibit hunting, possession, trade
or export of flying foxes. Moreover, The Forestry Administration Cambodia also
prohibits hunting of P. vampyrus (Epstein et al., 2009). In contrast, the Pteropus
spp. is not legally protected in Indonesia hence they are commonly found for sale
as food (Lee et al., 2005; Struebig et al., 2007).

In Malaysia, the wildlife is governed under three legislative systems in three
different geopolitical regions: the Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak,
hence the protection of the two native flying fox species varies (Aziz et al., 2016).
Previously in Peninsular Malaysia, flying foxes were allowed for sports hunting
with permit under the Protection of Wild Life Amendment Order 1990 in which
each permit is provided for killing up to 50 flying foxes; while under the
Protection of Wild Life Act 1972, flying foxes can be killed without permits if
there is "reason to believe that it has caused or about to cause serious damage" to
crops. A different hunting law applied in Sarawak of eastern Malaysia that all bat
species are listed as "Protected" and all hunting activities are illegal; while bats
are not protected in Sabah (Aziz et al., 2016). However, Wildlife Conservation
Act has been amended in 2010 and PERHILITAN has stopped issuing hunting
licenses for all Pteropus since 2013. Under this act, both species are categorized
as ‘Endangered’ and ‘Protected’ under the Red List of Mammals for Peninsular
Malaysia (PERHILITAN, 2017); and in the amending process to upgrade into list
of ‘Totally Protected’ with legal hunting completely prohibited (Chu, 2017).