Back to the Marianas next week! Here are two field sketchbook pages I didn't manage to post yet, of fanihi (Mariana fruit bat) and sali (Micronesian Starling).

Fanihi were kind of everywhere on Rota, and I saw more of them in five days there than I have in all my time working on Saipan over the years. It's good to know that their population is healthy there, though the locals said that they were seeing them more than usual also because of a behavioral change. Typhoons in 2023 had stripped the trees of flowers and fruit and delayed the new fruiting season, so part of the reason fanihi were so visible was that they were spending a lot more time than before having to find food.

Pretty important when doing any kind of science to keep behavior and detectability in mind - seeing more bats doesn't always mean there are more bats, just that they may be more visible than normal for other reasons.

The Hawaiian Hoary Bat: Five Amazing Facts

Article by Aaron Ochoa, a public affairs officer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region.

Ready to get batty for National Bat Appreciation Day? Today, April 17th, join bat enthusiasts from around the world and learn more about nature’s amazing little fliers. Bats are enigmatic, cryptic and contribute in fascinating ways to the overall health of an ecosystem.     

Meet Hawaii’s only endemic land mammal, the Hawaiian hoary bat. The endangered ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a, Hawaiian hoary bat, is a Hawaiian treasure. As life on the Hawaiian Islands evolved in geographical isolation, so did the ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a.   

While not the easiest to see, you can find bats in nearly every environment in the United States. Bats are an evolutionary wonder as this land mammal takes flight and leaves its land bound mammal cousins on the ground. With over 1,300 species, bats come in a variety of shapes and sizes. However, Hawaii has the distinction of being home to one of only three subspecies of bats.

Here are amazing five facts about ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a that are truly intriguing!

Photo courtesy of Brett Amy Thelen/Aschuelot Valley Environment/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

1.    How far is far. The Hawaiian archipelago contains some of the most captivating scenic wonders on the planet. These lush landscapes are home to thousands of species of insects, plants and wildlife. However, in an island of plenty, only two mammals are endemic to Hawaii.

The ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a is one of only two Hawaiian evolutionary endemic mammal inhabitants – the 'Ilio holo I ka uaua, Hawaiian monk seal, is the second. Which makes sense if your home is 3,600 kilometers away from the nearest continent. The Hawaiian island chain is one of the most remote islands in the world.

Photo: Unlike there mainland counterparts, ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a prefer to roost in the trees of the Hawaiian Islands forest. Photo courtesy of Forest and Kim Starr/CC BY 2.0

2.    Good things come in pairs. Every summer sees the possibility of ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a pups making their first appearance into the world. ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a breed during the summer months and when they give birth, they do so in pairs. Female ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a, like their North American mainland cousins, give birth to twin pups. Just because being a mother twins isn’t enough they also do so upside down.

Photo: The hoary in Hoary Bat refers to the frost of white hair that highlights its body. Photo courtesy of Nessie Grace/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

3.    Best bug zapper out there. Bats are incredible acrobatic insect eating machines. The ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a can eat as much as 40% of it body weight in bugs. They dart through the air – dining and dashing – eating moths, beetles, crickets, mosquitoes, and termites.

Photo: The average wingspan of the ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a is approximately one foot in length. Photo courtesy of Michael Pennay/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

4.    Here before humans. As more research into the origins of the ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a continues, scientists have determined two possible periods of bat migration to the Hawaiian archipelago. The more ancient migration may have occurred approximately 10,000 years ago and the second migration being more recent, 800 years ago.

Photo: The ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a is smaller, approximately 30% to 45%,  than hoary bats in Northern and South America. Photo credit: USFWS

5.   A symbol of Hawaii. Since the migration of the ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a to Hawaii, they have been making the Hawaiian Islands a better place. Just as with their avian neighbors, bats help pollinate the forest. They keep the island insect populations in check. Bats like the ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a help maintain their habitats and in turn those habitats serve so many other species of wildlife. In 2015, to celebrate and honor the ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a, state lawmakers designated the ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a as the official state land mammal of Hawaii.

Learn more about the bats of the Pacific Islands:

‘Ōpe‘ape‘a - Hawaiian hoary bat

Fanihi - Mariana fruit bat

Pe'a and pe'a vao - Samoan flying fruit bat

La bellezza di Nosy Fanihy una piccola isola corallina fiori colorati che nascono sulla spiaggia bianca corallina. Nosy Be #photographer #Madagascar. #spiaggia (presso Nosy Fanihy) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv7IiOHH75U/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1i9ce9jd3y77a

Pembangunan Rumah Susun (Rusunawa) Yayasan Pondok Pesantren Tarbiyah Islamiyah (Yp2TI) Batang Kabung Dimulai

BeritaSumbar.com -

Padang, beritasumbar.com ,-Pelaksana Harian (Plh) Kakanwil Kamenag  Provinsi Sumatera Barat, Drs. Afrijal, MM  letakan batu pertama Pembangunan Rumah Susun (Rusunawa) Yayasan Pondok Pesantren Tarbiyah Islamiyah (Yp2TI) Batang Kabung, Koto Tangah, Kota Padang, Senin kemarin.

Afrijal menyampaikan rasa salutnya kepada pengurus pondok pesantren yang selalu berusaha mencari terobosan-terobosan untuk pembangunan lembaga pendidikan yang mengajarkan dan menggali  aqidah Islamiyah dengan tujuan menjadikan anak didik sebagai manusia yang berguna bagi  bangsa dan agama  nantinya.

“Kita berikan apresiasi kepada Pengurus Yayasan Pondok Pesantren Tarbiyah Islamiyah (YP2TI) atas berhasilnya mengetuk hati Pemerintah, terutama yang membidangi prumahan, melalui  perpanjangan tangan putra Sumatera Barat yang duduk di DPR RI,” ujar Afrijal.

Pimpinan Pondok Pesantren  Tarbiyah Islamiyah, Batang Kabung, Buya Haji Idris Tuanku Sutan, mengatakan Pondok Pesantren Batang Kabaung, didirikan  Syekh Buya Haji Salif Tuanku Sutan Fanihi, pada tahun 1950 dan dia sendiri merupakan murid pertama ketika itu, sebagian besar murid pertama itu sudah banyak yang medahuluii kita dan termasuk pendirinya sendiri, Buya Haji Salif.

“Kini saya dipercaya dan diberi amanah, oleh almarhum Buya Batang Kabung, panggilan Haji Salif Tuanku Sutan sebagai penerus perjuangan almarhum. Sebagai pimpinan menyampaikan terima kasih banyak kepada semua pihak yang telah memperhatikan pondok pesantren ini,” ujar Buya Idris.

Sementara itu Mayunus, sebagai tokoh masyarakat Batang Kabung, mengatatakan, rasanya tidak ada yang bisa saya sampaikan pada kesempatan ini, selain  merasa terharu dan bangga, bahkan rasanya hari ini Pondok Pesantren Taribyah Islamiyah Bataung Kabung, mendapatkan “durian runtuah”, karena pengurus bersungguh sungguh dalam “maoyak”, patahlah dahannya satu,” ujar Mayunus dengan logat daerahnya.

Kepala  SNVT Penyediaan Perumahan Provinsi Sumatera Barat Indra M. Sutan, mengatakan, bangunan yang akan dikerjakan berlantai dua dan siap pada bulan November 2018 ini. Panjangan bangunan 37,5 x14, M2. Luas lahan yang dipakai 1.420 M2 dengan kapasitas tempat tidur untuk 150 orang santri.

Menurut Indra M Sutan, bangunan akan dilenghkapi dengan perabotan, seperti tempat tidur, almari dan kursi serta kasur, artinya bantuan yang diberikan Pemerintah  Kementerian Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat (PUPR) lengkap dengan fasilitasnya.

“Kita harapkan santri Pondok Pesantren Tarbiyah Islamiyah (PPTI) Batang Kabung, bertambah betah dalam menuntut ilmu di lembanga ini dan masyarakat Sumatera Barat, bertambah banyak mengatanrkan anaknya ke pesantren ini,” tukuk Indra M Sutan.

Ketua Panitia Pelaksana Peletakan Batu Pertama Rusunawa Yayasan Pondok Pesantren Tarbiyah Islamiyah (YP2TI) Batang Kabung, Dafril, Tuanku Bandaro, MA  dalam laporannya mengatakan, lama perjuangan untuk mendapatkan bantuan ini sampai sekarang memakan waktu lebih kurang 2 tahun.

Keberhasilan ini, bukanlah keberhasilan berkat tangan dingin seseorang, tetapi merupakan perjuangan dan usaha serta do’a kita bersama dan kita tidak bisa menyebutkan satu persatu, dalam kesempatan ini.

“Kita berharap balasan dari Allah SWT  dengan harapan perjuangan dan pengabdian kita bersama ini dinilai dengan ibadah,” ujar Dafril. (bb)

Baca berita selengkapnya di sini.. from Berita Sumbar via BeritaSumbar.com

Guaiyan Maisa Håo

It’s not easy to love yourself.  Society trains us from when we’re little to not be satisfied with what has been passed down from our parents.  We grow up with all of these insecurities and then we go to school and point out what we view as flaws in others in order to help ourselves feel better about what we dislike about ourselves. We’re always too much of something. We’re fat, skinny, tall, short, messy hair, straight hair, curly hair, brown, white, yellow, funny looking toes, big noses, big eyes, small eyes, yellow teeth, crooked teeth, wrinkles, freckles, skin blemishes, moles, eye lashes too long, eye brows too think, belly too round, legs too big,  butt too flat—if we focused as much attention on our inner development, the world might be so beautiful, we wouldn’t even notice the too muches we have lingering all over our bodies. 

I didn’t realize that I looked different from anyone else until my older sister told me I was adopted because I was not the same color as she and Christine.  I think I was four or five.  I started to notice that my cousins would joke about me being vanilla and they were chocolate, my oma would say “OOOH!  My little German girl!”  At this point in my life, I took these differences with a shrug and carried on thinking about Barbie Dolls as I imagined being discovered by Walt Disney himself to become the singing voice of Ariel (I didn’t know that a singer doesn’t continue to record music after the movie was done). 

It wasn’t until elementary school that I was called “haole” and that references to my white skin were made to be something terrible.  Apparently white people are believed to have a large array of illnesses amongst the 5 year old population as of 1991.  So it started… the distaste for my light skin.  As time passed, my 7 year-old palate maintained a love for Ichiban, Chef Boyardee, fried chicken and dunkaroos.  Because I had no one to play outside with and I wasn’t much of a loner, TV became my best friend and the names referencing my color were grouped with names referencing my weight. Development was further against me as my baby teeth fell out revealing crooked teeth that seemed to jut out in all directions.  If my teeth were landscape, one would need an all-terrain vehicle and some repelling rope to get from Point A to Point B.   Pre-teen years changed my thick straight hair with curly ends into a mess of coconut husk-like poof balls.  By the time I hit high school, the sight of myself in the mirror was completely displeasing.  I thought I was fat and ugly and I pretty much felt convinced that everyone else thought so too.  The insults were frequent enough for me to believe it. 

Awkward years and a life story later, I’m able to wake up, look in the mirror and tell myself “Damn girl, you cute!”  Of course some rugby weight loss, braces and hair reform has helped me feel a little better about myself, but there’s still that challenge of overcoming the taught mentality of being completely displeased with one’s appearance.  So how’d I do it?                                           PRACTICE.  

Many times we look at ourselves in the mirror and go “Ew, you’re all of these too muches!”—and that’s how we start our days!!!  PRACTICE.  First, practice simply looking at yourself and accepting.   Just silence.  Leave all negative thought outside of yourself and just be free of it.  At first you’ll have to remind yourself not to do it, but over time you’ll just wake up one day and realize you thought no bad thoughts.  After you get to that point, start to compliment yourself.  Everyone has some quality that’s amazing—point it out to yourself.  In time, I started to love the bright brownness of my eyes, the contrast of my dark features against my light skin that I once loathed so much. I appreciate the curliness of my hair as it allows me to roll out of bed and be excused for messiness.  Seriously, curly hair is allowed to be a little messy.  My biggest challenge was my weight and I eventually overcame that also.  While I’m thick and rollie pollie, I had to learn to appreciate the curve of my hips, the size of my breasts, the thickness of my legs, the softness of my tummy.  My shape is the model for the body that no woman wishes for… but with practice I can now wake up in the morning and after getting dressed, check myself and go “Damn girl, you cute!” So just do it man.  Love yourself.   Hm.  In other news, I’m going fanihi counting tomorrow.  I hope I get paired with someone cool.  In a lot of my past, I get paired with some kind of special person, I've started to wonder if the higher being thought it funny to put me in these situations.   This one situation I'll never forget:  I was sitting in a waiting room for my massage appointment.  I had no idea who my therapist would be-- I never went to this spa before.  As the receptionist says "There's your therapist!"  I turn to see a beautiful man of pacific island decent, maybe he's 6'2, 280 lbs, long hair, obviously works out.  I whispered a quick prayer of thanks right before homeboy held the door open for this old Filipino man in a track suit, wearing a fanny pack, long hair, long nails, a mustache and beard that was very obviously inspired by fashion statements from the Huang Dynasty.  I pleaded to the heavens to be allowed spa QT with the fine therapist.  Alas, the universe was feeling funny that day and I got the Filipino Confucius.   That's not even all!  In high school I was a peer mediator in my senior year.  As a peer mediator, you just kind of go into classes and you're there to help a student with a learning disability or some other kind of something and in every single class, I was paired with a student that had the most wicked breath, or a spitter, or one that was touchy.  What is this?  Why?!  You cannot make these kinds of misfortunes up, people.  You absolutely cannot.   Any way, I'm going to imagine myself paired with a desirable human being.  Not necessarily one I want to make babies with in the jungle or anything...  just someone who's cool.   <3 Shan