Samoa flying fox a luxury food item, but a stop was put to that trade when it was listed in Appendix I of CITES in 1990. This made it illegal to export it, and hunting since then has been on a smaller scale and only for domestic use. It is present in some national parks and other protected areas which gives it some measure of protection. The Samoan word for the flying fox fruit bat, "pe'a", is also the name of the traditional Samoan male tattoo. In Samoan and Polynesian mythologies, stories, myths, proverbs, and legends are associated with this winged creature. One
Little red flying fox to humans: Hendra virus, Australian bat lyssavirus, and Menangle virus. The animals are nomadic and difficult to track, as they tend not to live in urban areas. No accurate method in use currently can estimate the population to determine if the species is holding its own or is in decline. The species is very likely to be affected by the same factors that have seen the grey-headed flying fox and spectacled flying fox listed as threatened, that is, the destruction of foraging areas and roosting habitat. Little red flying fox The little red flying fox ("Pteropus scapulatus") is a species