Whangārei's long-tailed bat population could be protected with more conservation, research

The endangered long-tailed bat lives in Pukenui Forest. Photo / DOC

The Bird of the Year competition was turned upside down this year after a new controversial contestant – the pekapeka tou-roa or the long-tailed bat – was crowned the winner among its winged fellows.

Although not technically a bird, the bat was entered in the competition to raise awareness of its critical endangerment and loss of habitat – something that also affects the pekapeka tou-roa of Whangārei.

The long-tailed bats live in Pukenui Forest at the western edge of the Whangārei urban area. Exactly how many bats live in and around the forest is not known, but conservation groups are keen to get more detail on that soon.

Tertia Thurley is an ecology technical adviser for the Department of Conservation and has extensively surveyed bats around Aotearoa.

"The long-tailed bats are critically endangered. That means their population is expected to decline by 70 per cent over the next three generations," Thurley explained.

"They are endangered by the usual predators: rats, possums, stoats, cats and so on. But increasingly, they are in conflict with people.

"Developments, roads, rubbish dumps, high-density housing and forestry are pushing them further back."

Thurley said the bats need vegetation to roost and travel in search of food.

Pekapeka tou-roa is one of three endemic, terrestrial mammals of New Zealand and Thurley confirmed they do indeed hang upside down.

They also roost in growth – preferably kahikatea, rimu and kauri – and females have one young a year.

Pukenui ranger Bevan Cramp knows of the pekapeka tou-roa living in his forest and would love to learn about the population.

He said the Pukenui Western Hills Forest Charitable Trust was trying to get suitable equipment, including recording devices, to measure the bats' sonar frequency and monitor their movements.

In the meantime, Cramp and his team will carry out pest control around Pukenui to protect bats and birds alike.

In 2019, DoC surveyed the prevalence of bats in the Pukenui Forest and found they were active around mostly the mid-north area of Pukenui and south of Otaika.

The nocturnal pekapeka tou-roa are foraging the edges of forests to catch bugs and can be seen at dusk.

Many bats were sighted near Pukenui Rd, Kiwi North and Barge Park, in Maunu.

In a paper, NorthTec student Loren Carr examined DoC's findings and raised questions around the use of areas surrounding the forest while also discussing potential nearby habitats.

Carr said there were historical records of the bats in Glenbervie, but we don't have any current data.

Meanwhile, she pointed out the district was making an effort in protecting the endangered animal – even if most people didn't even know that bats are living in the town's backyard.

"The long-tailed bats in Pukenui provide Whangārei with a unique opportunity to be a town where bat conservation is part of the community fabric, just as the kiwi currently are," Carr writes.

"Many people are lucky enough to have long-tailed bats literally in their backyard.

"Furthering the knowledge of the long-tailed bat habitat boundaries and clarification of their relative abundance patterns, will provide policymakers with robust data to make decisions about how to best manage the endangered species and their long-term persistence in the area."

Pekapeka facts:

• Bats or pekapeka are New Zealand's only native land mammals.
• Long-tailed bats are found in more places than short-tailed bats. But both species are at risk.
• They roost and raise their young in tree cavities where rats, stoats, possums and cats prey on them.
• Research shows beech seed-fuelled rat plagues are a key cause of bat population decline.
• We can't move bats to pest-free sites. So, without pest control they are likely to become extinct.