The fanihi is a native fruit bat of the Mariana Islands with a long standing tradition of codependency with its people. Rota is home to one of the final surviving populations of fanihi, where the fate of the bat species is largely in question due to modernization and westernization. For years, the Chamorro people have hunted the fruit bat as a cultural practice but now, poachers have found profit within the bat in a way that is destroying the tradition and the bat population. This short documentary serves as an analysis of the Chamorro’s societal struggle with heritage and commercialization.

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