Residents in a southern Negros city have learned to read the skies through the behavior of flying foxes, and when the bats disappear, they brace for impact.
For years, locals have watched a colony of flying foxes disappear days before powerful storms strike, only to return once the skies clear.
This behavior is especially evident in Purok 4, Barangay Aguisan in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, where the bats cluster on two towering Bita trees (Alstonia scholaris) — one behind Stella Maris Academy and another inside the private property of the Tan family, surrounded by residential homes.
“We’ve observed it many times,” 56-year-old Cerna Toriento told Brigada News FM on Tuesday, February 17. “When a strong typhoon is coming, they leave. After the storm, they return.”
Toriento said the bats have roosted in the area for about eight years, “possibly after disturbances in their natural habitat” forced them to relocate. However, other residents claimed the colony has been there for decades.
She vividly recalled how the colony vanished before Super Typhoon Odette devastated parts of Negros Occidental in December 2021.
“Before Odette hit, the trees were empty,” she said.
Residents also noticed unusual behavior from the bats before Typhoon Tino struck Central Philippines. The colony hid for days before landfall and reappeared only after conditions stabilized.
“It’s like they sense something is about to happen,” Toriento added.
She said the community has begun treating the bats’ behavior as a natural early warning system for approaching severe weather.
Despite hosting hundreds of large fruit bats, the community has reported no problems.
“They don’t harm us. They even help grow more fruit-bearing trees,” she said.
A similar observation has emerged in Sagay City, where flying foxes have come to symbolize resilience for coastal communities facing increasingly stronger and more frequent climate disturbances.
Residents there have also linked sudden changes in bat behavior to shifts in environmental conditions, treating them as an “unwitting early warning system.”
Scientific explanation
Dr. Maria Elena B. San Jose, Head of the Technical Support Services Division of the Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO), said that the Philippines hosts several native fruit bat species, including flying foxes under the genus Pteropus, such as the large flying fox and the small or variable flying fox.
“These bats prefer tall, mature trees like dita or bita for roosting,” San Jose explained. “They choose areas near wetlands or water sources where food is abundant and human disturbance is minimal.”
Flying foxes are nocturnal. They rest during the day and travel long distances at night — sometimes tens of kilometers — to feed on fruits and flowers, she said.
As they feed, they disperse seeds and pollinate trees, helping regenerate forests and maintain ecological balance.
“These bats are not accidental visitors,” San Jose emphasized. “They are important pollinators and seed dispersers that contribute to forest health.”
She added that the continued presence of flying foxes in the community suggests that residents have not disturbed them through hunting or tree-cutting.
Barangay Aguisan forms part of the Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area (NOCWCA), the country’s 7th Ramsar Site or Wetland of International Importance.
The protected area spans the coastal wetlands of 10 local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental and remains the only Ramsar site in the Philippines managed locally by LGUs.
San Jose urged Barangay Aguisan and Himamaylan City officials, through their Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO), to sustain protection efforts alongside residents.
The provincial government, through PEMO, continues to collaborate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation (PhilBio), NOCWAMA, local governments, and academic institutions to enhance conservation efforts.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.