Pteropus mariannus, Mariana's Fruit Bat, or Ulithi Fruit Bat (locally called "fanihi"), is a member of Pteropodidae, a family of bats sharing a canine appearance lending them the nickname "Flying Foxes". Mariana's Fruit bat is endemic to the Northern Mariana's Islands, Guam, and Ulithi. Habitat loss, over hunting and poaching by humans, and predation by local species such as the invasive brown tree snake of Guam has resulted in a decline in species population. Climate change and other human activity have likewise resulted in a decline in the bat species' resilience to otherwise manageable natural disasters and chance occurrences, such as earth quake, volcanic eruption, and typhoon, which are particularly threatening to the animal's survival. Consumption of the bats by humans has been a long held culinary tradition on local islands, but over hunting of the bats for their meat is a leading factor to population disturbances. Other human contributions to the bats' threatened status include deforestation activity as well as increased military training in air flight and live fire at Andersen Air Force base, where the last remaining island colony of fruit bats lives.
