{
  "id": 18292842,
  "title": "Selective hunting may be making Madagascar’s largest bats smaller, study says",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/selective-hunting-may-be-making-madagascars-largest-bats-smaller",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-05T10:39:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/selective-hunting-may-be-making-madagascars-largest-bats-smaller-study-says/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study suggests that hunting may be contributing to the reduction in size of Madagascar's largest fruit bat, the Malagasy flying fox (Pteropus rufus). This species is crucial for pollination and seed dispersal due to its diet of fruit and nectar. However, the Malagasy flying fox is also hunted for meat, both for subsistence and commercial purposes. Legal hunting occurs from May to September annually, with hunters employing various methods such as nets or shotguns to capture the bats for food or sale. Researchers from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, led by Emily Cornelius Ruhs, first observed the apparent decrease in size when examining wild bats. The researchers hypothesized that commercial hunting intensified since the 1980s could be responsible for the size reduction. To test their hypothesis, Ruhs and co-author Steve Goodman analyzed skulls and teeth of 121 Malagasy flying fox specimens collected over 150 years. The findings indicate that the bats' skulls have become significantly smaller since 1980, while their teeth remained unchanged. This size reduction could be due to hunters selectively targeting larger bats for more meat.",
  "summary": "Madagascar’s largest fruit bat is getting smaller, and hunting may be partly to blame, a recent study suggests. The Malagasy flying fox (Pteropus rufus) feeds mainly on fruit and nectar, making it an important pollinator and seed disperser. But the species is also hunted for meat, both for subsistence and commercial sale. Hunting is legal […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}