Hoary bat joins the club of official state critters

The ope‘ape‘a — or Hawaiian hoary bat — became the official state land mammal Wednesday.

"The ope‘ape‘a is worthy of the title of state land mammal because it has been here for so long, and faithfully provides free pest-control services to us all," said state Sen. Sam Slom, who drafted legislation making the designation, in a news release. "Most importantly, this bipartisan effort to elevate the bat’s status to state land mammal will increase awareness of the environmental issues affecting its survival."

Gov. David Ige signed the bat bill into law at his fifth-floor office at the state Capitol.

Although the ope‘ape‘a is nocturnal, no evidence of vampirical activity has been reported, according to Slom (R, Diamond Head-Kahala-Hawaii Kai).

The ope‘ape‘a is Hawaii’s only native land mammal, and is a subspecies found only in Hawaii. Fossils reveal its presence in Hawaii as early as 10,000 years ago.

The ope‘ape‘a is listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and by the state. Deforestation and collisions with man-made structures like wind turbines and barbed wire fences pose a threat to the ope‘ape‘a population.

The ope‘ape‘a will join the pulelehua or Kamehameha butterfly (insect), nene goose (bird), humpback whale (marine mammal), monk seal (mammal) and humuhumunukunukuapua‘a (fish) to take its rightful place in the elite club of official Hawaii state animals.