St Maarten Park

THE BATS ARE HERE!
After a long wait we are pleased to announce that the bats are here!

St Maarten Park has just imported a group of
48 Jamaican Fruit Bats Artibeus jamaicensis from Potawatomi Zoo in Indiana, USA.

These bats are captive bred from the large colony held at Potawatomi Zoo and were transported to St Maarten in a specially designed and constructed bat transportation box.

They were met by St Maarten Park's manager
in Miami where, due to their high energy requirements and big appetites, they were fed during the stopover before boarding the plane
to St Maarten.

St Maarten Park's staff have been busy renovating the Bat Cave, which has been sitting derelict and empty for years, in anticipation for the arrival of the bats.

Jamaican Fruit Bats in the wild are found from Mexico to Bolivia and central Brazil and also throughout the Greater and Lesser Antilles including St Maarten.

They feed on various fruits including figs, mangos, avocados, bananas and they are a very important part of the ecosystem as they disperse seeds and pollinate flowers.
They roost during the day in caves and buildings.

The bats arrived on Friday 17th of October
and the official reopening of the Bat Cave is set for Halloween, October 31st.
For more information contact Nick Atchison
at 543 2030.

The Bat Cave is now a wonderful exciting exhibit and we have added a few effects to enhance its already rich ambience.
So far the public response has been extremely positive.