After the forests were cut down to make way for sugar plantations the bat population dropped drastically, and the few remaining ones are still hunted for their meat.

Dobsonia chapmani is a large fruit bat that lives in Southeastern Asia in the Philippines and the surrounding islands.

[2] It measures 218–221 mm from nose to tail and weighs 125–143 g. The wings of this bat connect to the midline of the back giving it a naked/furless appearance.

The forest habitats, consist of naturally open and shrubby native vegetation such as: batino (Alstonia macrophylla), hindunganon (Macaranga sp.

For food, the bat also utilizes the surrounding agricultural clearings that are planted with abacá (Musa textiles), gabi (Colocasia esculenta), and coconuts (Cocos nucifera).

[8] In the Carmen municipality on Cebu Island the local government has formed a group of environmental protection coordinators who patrol and report violations in the habitat of the Philippines naked backed fruit bat.

The duty of these coordinators is to survey cave "sanctuaries", as named by the municipal government, and report changes in the habitat and hunting of bats.