Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 1:13 PM
Visit www.lubee.org for the newsletter with graphic images and links.
Lubee Flying Fox Conservation
Quarterly e-news Jan Feb Mar 2009
Adopt-a-bat
With the symbolic adoption of a fruit bat, you join Lubee's efforts to save bats.
Each adoption is fully tax deductible. Adoption kits include a photo and certificate depicting your chosen bat AND a plush bat
Visit our web site to Adopt-a-bat
Thanks to our Bat Fest'08 sponsors
PPI Construction Management
Disney
Alternatives Global Marketplace
AMF Alley Katz
Dampier's Septic
Gainesville Health & Fitness Center
Gator Mania
Grandiflora
Hatchett Creek Farms
Hippodrome
Lowe's
Macaroni Grill
Office Plus
O2B Kids
Produce Distribution Center
Renaissance Printing
Satchel's
Sears Portrait Studio
Skate Station Funworks
Sweetwater Organic Coffee
The Garden Produce
The Great Frame Up
43rd St. Deli and Breakfast
Wards
Dear Lubee Friends,
Thank you for subscribing to our e-news. Please be sure to check out our new website at www.lubee.org
We do hope you enjoy our news and share this link with others. Please forward this email to friends and encourage them to sign up to
receive this newsletter and add a link to our site on their web pages.
We are trying to improve our communications with you and share our news on a more frequent basis. So please do expect regular
quarterly news from us during 2009!
At the Bat Center
Bat Fest '08Batfest
The 4th Annual Bat Festival held October 25, 2008, shattered previous attendance records by bringing in over 1,300 visitors.
Although the event was held during the University of Florida Homecoming weekend, the bats once again proved to be the real stars of
the night. Bat Fest '08 was the first year we had food vendors and partnered with BloodSouth, whose Blood mobile was on site. At the
festival, tours and talks, kids activities and live didgeridoo music entertained visitors, adding a global feel to the festivities.
Lubee Bat Conservancy is already planning on making this year's festival bigger; including more child-friendly activities and
hosting additional vendors. The 2009 Annual Bat Festival will be held Saturday, October 10, 2009. If you missed the fun last year,
don't make the same mistake twice! Mark your calendar for Bat Fest'09, join our mailing list and/or visit our web site, and we will
notify you of Bat Fest'09 developments.
Filming for WebosaursNigel Marven
Lubee hosted Nigel Marven for two days, filming educational "Webosodes" for Webosaurs - a social gaming platform for children ages
6-10 where 3D avatar customization, in-world exploration, virtual battles and action-packed games are combined to create the
ultimate interactive experience.
www.webosaurs.com
Webosaurs also seeks to promote environmental awareness and education by implementing various in-world campaigns which encourage
children to support eco-friendly causes.
Research News
Development of an artificial insemination protocol in the flying-fox (Pteropus spp.)AI study
Cooling experiments were conducted using semen collected from several different flying-fox species held in captivity at the Lubee
Bat Conservancy in a research study by Debbie Melville from Queensland University (Australia) and Dr Linda Penfold,from White Oaks
Conservation Center (Florida). Analysis of the sperm membrane will provide an insight into its fragility during attempts to cool
sperm to permit artificial insemination. A key element to this collaborative study was the availability of Pteropus species held
outside Australia. Analysis of the data has only just started; however, it appears that there are male-male differences and species
differences of the sperm membranes.
Field News
Friends of the Fanihi
Fanihi is the local name given to the only flying foxes to reside on US Territory (the island of Guam) in the Pacific Ocean, and
islands closeby, including Rota, Saipan and isles known as the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. The CNMI Division of
Fish and Wildlife (DFW) biologist on Rota and local NGO, Rota Conservation and Ecotourism (RCE), participated in the annual Island
Fiesta of San Francisco de Borja in October 2008. The Fiesta provided a celebratory atmosphere where conservation awareness for the
Mariana fruit was raised by handing out T- shirts, caps, stickers and education materials produced with funding from Lubee. The
t-shirts are proudly worn by locals and have even been sighted on Guam and Saipan. The shirts stimulate conversation about the bats
whenever they are worn.
Keeper Diaries
For the Love of Bats
Ever wonder what it's like to spend your day working alongside 250 bats? Lubee Bat Conservancy's expert staff of animal keepers
would like to tell you all about it. By following the link to Keeper Diaries Blog, you will read articles written by the keeping
staff discussing everything from a typical day, to a tense situation involving a challenging bat birth. Lubee keepers practice all
aspects of animal care: basic animal husbandry, training, enrichment, education, and research. Learn how getting to know an
individual bat's personality translates into better management, and how each bat needs special care and attention.
A Ray of SunshineSunshine
A Little Golden-mantled Flying Fox (Pteropus pumilus) named Sunshine or "Sunny'" was born 19 June 2008. He was rejected by his
mother and the decision was made to hand raise him. He has done well throughout the entire hand-rearing process and our keepers
taught him to fly. He is currently fully integrated into a male colony.
Species News
The Pemba Flying Fox (Pteropus voeltzkowi)
A once critically endangered bat species, the 'Pemba flying fox', has made a dramatic return from the brink of extinction, according
to new research. As recently as 1989, only a scant few individual fruit bats could be observed on the tropical island of Pemba, off
Tanzania. Due to a community based conservation program initiated with funding provided to FFI by Lubee, it's numbers have soared to
an astounding 22,000 bats in less than 20 years, the new research finds. Continue reading this article from Science Daily
Lubee is succesful because of its dedicated team of staff, interns and volunteers, and also because of you, the people and
organizations who make our work possible. I'd like to extend my personal thanks to each and every one of you who has visited our
website, and especially those of you who have been kind enough to provide support to Lubee through web donations.
In these uncertain economic times, non-profit organizations everywhere are suffering, making now an ideal time to give a small gift.
Lubee's Bat Center operates from private endowment funds, and thus 100% of gifts received go directly to field conservation science
projects through our Small Grants fund.
Sincerely,
Curry Purple flower
Allyson Walsh, Director
Lubee Bat Conservancy
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