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
Vanikoro flying fox Confirmed food sources of the Vanikoro flying fox include coconut flowers, coconut nectar, and fan palm flowers. Originally the IUCN Red List listed the Vanikoro flying fox as "Vulnerable" in 1996, but as of 2008 its status has been updated to "Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct)". However, as of 2014, large numbers of the species were recorded by a Heritage Expeditions survey conducted on threatened birds and flying foxes in the Santa Cruz islands and Solomon Islands. Due to its imperiled status, it is identified by the Alliance for Zero Extinction as a species in danger of imminent extinction. In 2013,