People and bats in Fiji: perceptions and interactions
- 1Massey University 1 , Palmerston North, New Zealand
- 2The University of the South Pacific 2 , Suva, Central Division, Fiji
Abstract
The management of wild bat populations often presents challenges in balancing the needs of biodiversity conservation and public health risks from zoonotic diseases. In Fiji, the most important recognized zoonotic infection is Leptospira, which was recently detected in wild bat populations. Five out of six species of Fijian bats are considered threatened to critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. This study investigates the perceptions of bats by people in Fiji and aims to identify and quantify the reported frequency and types of interactions between bats and people. In this mixed-methods study, 198 Fijian people were interviewed across the three main islands of Fiji: Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Bats were generally perceived positively (63%, 125/198), mostly because they are perceived to be ‘clean, healthy and tasty’ meat sources (73%, 134/184). The majority of participants consume and come into contact with bats or with their urine, faeces, blood and saliva. Older adults, men and those who recognize that bats can cause harm are more likely to contact bats in Fiji. Quantifying these interactions and identifying other risk factors for bat exposure is an important step in targeting conservation efforts, community engagement and education, as well as determining at-risk groups for possible zoonotic pathogen exposure.
Related
- Ancient human genomes reveal farmer-pastoralist interactions in the formation of Iron Age Qin people
- SkeleSketch: An Open-Source Tool for Quantifying Microglial Morphology in Fiji/ImageJ
- Antibiotic-resistant pathogens and heavy metal-tolerant bacteria in Batissa violacea: A study from the Ba River, Fiji
- Influence of soft coral density and depth on benthic communities on Fiji's Rainbow Reef
- Horseshoe Bats Recognise the Sex of Conspecifics from Their Echolocation Calls
BibTeX
@article{mccutchan2026people,
title = {{People and bats in Fiji: perceptions and interactions}},
author = {Jessica L. McCutchan and Alivereti Naikatini and David T. S. Hayman and Brett D. Gartrell},
journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1098/rsos.250383},
url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/11/250383/483994/People-and-bats-in-Fiji-perceptions-and},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - People and bats in Fiji: perceptions and interactions
AU - Jessica L. McCutchan
AU - Alivereti Naikatini
AU - David T. S. Hayman
AU - Brett D. Gartrell
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - Royal Society Open Science
DO - 10.1098/rsos.250383
UR - https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/11/250383/483994/People-and-bats-in-Fiji-perceptions-and
AB - The management of wild bat populations often presents challenges in balancing the needs of biodiversity conservation and public health risks from zoonotic diseases. In Fiji, the most important recognized zoonotic infection is Leptospira, which was recently detected in wild bat populations. Five out of six species of Fijian bats are considered threatened to critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. This study investigates the perceptions of bats by people in Fiji and aims to identify and quantify the reported frequency and types of interactions between bats and people. In this mixed-methods study, 198 Fijian people were interviewed across the three main islands of Fiji: Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Bats were generally perceived positively (63%, 125/198), mostly because they are perceived to be ‘clean, healthy and tasty’ meat sources (73%, 134/184). The majority of participants consume and come into contact with bats or with their urine, faeces, blood and saliva. Older adults, men and those who recognize that bats can cause harm are more likely to contact bats in Fiji. Quantifying these interactions and identifying other risk factors for bat exposure is an important step in targeting conservation efforts, community engagement and education, as well as determining at-risk groups for possible zoonotic pathogen exposure.
SN - 2054-5703
ER -