Bane or Blessing? Reviewing Cultural Values of Bats across the Asia-Pacific Region

Abstract

Chiroptophobia, or the fear of bats, which encompasses negative perceptions of bats as disease vectors, pests, or harmful creatures associated with evil spirits, represents an important barrier to bat conservation globally. Derived largely from the influence of Western cultural perceptions, it ignores the diverse cultural perceptions of bats from other regions, which have been largely overlooked. To better understand local beliefs and cultural perceptions regarding bats across the Asia-Pacific region, and how they may help design culturally grounded conservation strategies, we conducted a review of publications in the English-language literature documenting cultural value of bats in Asia-Pacific traditions. We discovered 119 bat cultural values in 60 different cultures from 24 countries across the region and found a wide spectrum of reports, which we categorized according to five wildlife value categories and further categorized these values according to positive, neutral, and negative. We found that 62% of the cultures had only positive values, 8% had only neutral values, while 10% had only negative values. This suggests that the Asia-Pacific region and its cultures contain far more positive associations with bats than most Western societies and, as such, offer promising examples and opportunities to promote human-bat coexistence. However, we also discuss how local belief systems may not always align with daily practices or conservation objectives. We suggest employing targeted, culturally grounded and locally contextualized outreach strategies in order to carry out more effective bat conservation and education in Asia-Pacific countries.

Disease Avoidance Model Explains the Acceptance of Cohabitation With Bats During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…It is good to bear in mind that negative views on bats have neither been universal nor always prevailed in the human history. For example, in the Asia-Pacific region, bats have been associated with good luck (Rocha et al, 2021) and for the most part attitudes toward bats have been positive in that area (Low et al, 2021). However, global pandemics can exacerbate human attitudes toward bats.…”

Bats in Folklore and Culture: A Review of Historical Perceptions around the World

“…In southwest Asia, bat folklore has been documented between Iran, India, and Myanmar [25][26][27]. In southwest Asia, the bat is predominantly perceived as a strange, negative, and demonic animal that should be avoided.…”

“…Flying fox's emergence time is believed in Myanmar to indicate the weather: an early or no emergence foretells a coming storm. Bats are also used as allegories to denote romantic or parental love in the poetry of Tamil Sangam literature in India [27][28][29].…”

“…Throughout Southeast Asia, bats are associated with luck and good fortune and used as spiritual totems [6,27]. Since the fourteenth century, Chinese culture has regarded bats as lucky animals, and these blessing bat symbols have been prevalent in Chinese arts over the centuries [33].…”

“…Since the fourteenth century, Chinese culture has regarded bats as lucky animals, and these blessing bat symbols have been prevalent in Chinese arts over the centuries [33]. In Indonesia, farmers in South Sulawesi believe that flying foxes roosting near their rice fields guarantee a good harvest [27]. Similarly, fishermen in the Philippines consider mangrove roosting flying foxes to be guardians of their fishing grounds and to increase fish and shellfish catch [27].…”