Fleeting Foxes
Bats are the only mammals that have been able to colonize the 300 islands that make up the Fiji archipelago, and of these creatures the Fijian Monkey-Faced Bat is the only bat species that is endemic to Fiji. The sole confirmed habitat for this flying fox is the misty forested uplands of a single island, Taveuni. Since Fiji has very few pollinating species, bats play a crucial role in Fijian ecosystems. This is another heartbreaking example of an important species that was only discovered recently — it was identified in 1977 — yet it may become extinct before we learn much about it.
