Bats, bats, bats

We are at war on the island with bats – enormous, screeching, squealing, mango stealing fruit bats. They flock by the dozens in the mango tree outside our window each night, gorge themselves on the fruit and keep us awake all night with screeching and squealing so loud that it makes me miss the dog back home that barks all night outside my bedroom window – it seems like a lullaby in comparison! Not only that, but they cause the hard, unripe mangoes to rain onto our tin roof – it sounds like softballs raining from the sky!

With no natural predators on the island, the bats are way overpopulated – they strip the papaya, banana, and mango trees of their fruit each night. So we have opened bat season on the island to cull them down to more reasonable numbers. Jimmy and Nemani were up till 2 am last night hunting – Jimmy with a slingshot, and Nemani with a sharpened stick that he throws with the skill of an Olympic javelin athlete. The fruits of their night’s work, two bats, were simmering in a pot the kitchen when I left the island this morning. Yep, they are edible, and I hear quite tasty. After boiling, they are stripped of the meat on their hind end – that’s the meatiest part. So it is bat butt curry tonight - I sure hope they taste better than they smell, that’s for sure! I will let you know. And here’s to hoping that tonight’s hunting is far more successful, because at only 2 bats a night, we will be hunting for a looooong time before reducing the numbers enough to save some mangoes for us to eat.

Jimmy and the kids are with Tui Mali (the island chief) at the prize giving ceremony at the Mali school today – I believe that is the equivalent of awards day. It is the last week of school before their big break – 8 weeks. Looking forward to having more children around the island!

Have a great week! Moce mada!