A species leaves the list

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Three years ago, renowned bat biologist and conservationist Rodrigo Medellín was working in the warm, humid interior of a large cave – Cueva de Las Vegas in Puebla, east of Mexico City – when he made a startling discovery. For over 30 years, Medellín had been drawn to the cavern that harboured a wealth of bats – 13 species – to monitor, survey and video its inhabitants. Inside, he studied the cave’s cavities and recesses in amazement: over 5,000 lesser long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris curasoae), a species endangered in the U.S. and threatened in Mexico, had established a new colony within the cave.

Rodrigo Medellín, pictured here waiting for the bats with Richard C. Brusca
© Rolex Awards / Thierry Grobet

“I’ve been visiting the cave since 1976, and I had seen no previous evidence of a lesser long-nosed colony there before,” marvels Dr Medellín who was chosen as an Associate Laureate in the 2008 Rolex Awards. “I was completely astonished to find, out of the blue, a new colony of a threatened species in an area where I have been working for a long time.”

The discovery not only signalled a resurgence of this migratory and pollinating species, but its stability as well; for Medellín, it was a culmination of 17 years of hard work driven by an unparalleled desire to protect and conserve the species.

Several critical elements played a role in the lesser long-nosed bat’s comeback. Highly effective research, education and community-based conservation programmes initiated by Medellín through the Program for the Conservation of Mexican Bats (PCMM) demonstrated that such community-based outreach could make a significant difference.

Maria Luisa Franco, biologist and regional coordinator of PCMM conducting education outreach.
© Rolex Awards / Thierry Grobet

Since the mid-1990s, well-established environmental educational activities have spread throughout communities surrounding priority caves, establishing a culture of bat protection rather than harm. Currently, more than 300,000 schoolchildren whose knowledge of bats transfers back into the community have fully participated in PCMM conservation programmes.

© Marco Tschapka

In addition, recent surveys of pollination of agave plants by lesser long-nosed bats in seven different areas of Mexico, (three of which were enabled by Medellín’s Rolex Award), revealed strong levels of pollination, indicating both a healthy functioning ecosystem and bat population. Mexico holds about 80 per cent of the lesser long-nosed bat’s range, which in turn encompasses 14 to 16 of the species’ roosts; all demonstrated stability, growth and even the emergence of new colonies, as Medellín happily discovered.

The number of Mexico’s threatened bat species will soon drop from 15 to 14. “We’re working with the federal government of Mexico to remove lesser long-nosed bats from the Endangered Species list before the end of the year,” he says with a mixture of elation and pride. “We rarely hear about species recovering and leaving the list – this is a major, major success for conservation.”

Dr Medellín feels very grateful for the Rolex Award which he says made it “amazingly easy” for him to continue to expand the influence of bat conservation around the world. He was able to broaden the scope of his conservation efforts to monitor other species such as the Hairy Fruit-eating bat (Artibeus hirsutus) and to launch a more comprehensive programme on the Banana bat (Musonycteris harrisoni). Instead of mounting his programme in 10 states, as initially planned, he carried out environmental education activities and research in 14.

Rodrigo Medellín with his collaborator, biologist Laura Navarro Noriega
© Rolex Awards / Thierry Grobet

Although the lesser long-nosed bat’s future looks more secure, Medellín and his team will continue to monitor the species, while facing considerable challenges in protecting other types of bats. In rural areas, common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) colonies still face human destruction of their habitat or roosts when the bats produce a rabies outbreak in cattle.

In efforts to control vampire bats, locals may misguidedly destroy thousands, sometimes millions, of beneficial bats. Acknowledging the economic hardship incurred by ranchers, PCMM diligently works with local people to address the problem through education and vaccination programmes for livestock.

In an ironic twist, however, this same bat, universally regarded as a pest and reviled by many, may soon play a significant role in medical treatments. “You never know when a species is going to be the source for the next biodiversity-derived benefit for humans,” Medellín explains, noting that he was involved in the initial stages of a study to develop a major drug derived from vampire bat saliva that will be used to fight blood clots.

Medellín takes considerable satisfaction in noting Latin America’s emergence as a world leader in bat conservation largely through the Latin American Network for Bat Conservation (RELCOM), an initiative he dreamed of, brought to life in 2007 with other bat experts and led until 2010. Bat specialists from 15 different countries have united to share strategies, priorities and experience. “Rodrigo’s work to protect bats through high quality research and sound education has been inspiring for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean,” says Luis Aguirre, coordinator of RELCOM and of the Bolivian Bat Conservation Program. “He is the soul and the substance of the network.”

Medellín’s efforts continue to draw praise and recognition, most recently when he received the prestigious BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation in Latin America. He hopes to use the award and private donations to establish a trust fund that will support education, research and scholarships to promote the study and conservation of Mexican bats – it will be the first trust fund anywhere in the world solely for the benefit of bats.

Few have worked as determinedly as Medellín to change the image of bats or to protect them. He maintains an exhausting pace, collecting field data, mentoring students and furthering his research, none of which dims his excitement over bats. “The passion I feel whenever I hold a bat in my hands, whenever I’m looking at a bat, whenever I’m talking about bats with other people, it’s just a never-ending source of energy for me,” he says cheerfully. He has no intention of slowing down, however. “There will be time for me to sleep in the grave I guess!”

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We rarely hear about species recovering and leaving the list – this is a major, major success for conservation.”

A species leaves the list

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