Urban bats: Long-tailed bats thriving in Hamilton
Dozens of people stand in a clearing near the edge of the Waikato River in Hamilton. They are all holding strange devices which blare out static at full volume. Everyone is staring at the sky. Suddenly there’s a blast of noise from the devices. It sounds a bit like dripping water mixed with a sharp clicking. A small fluttering speck appears silhouetted against the sky. That speck is one of New Zealand’s only native mammals, the New Zealand long-tailed bat.
Precious pekapeka making CHB their home
We rise at 4.30am. Our bodies are tired. We only laid our heads down at 1am, so we snap ourselves awake with cherries and chocolate and a quick cup of tea. We are going to see if harp traps set in A'Deane's Bush have caught any of the long-tailed bats we know are in the area. Abi Quinnell and I walk past the big totara. It seems even bigger in the first light of dawn. We look into the cotton bag at the bottom of the trap. To our delight there is one tiny ball of fur tucked into a corner...
The secret life of New Zealand's bats
They may be on your property right now and they come in peace. The night is cool and calm. A hushed air of anticipation ripples through the small but eager group gathered on a quiet, backcountry Otago road. Catlins’ resident chiropterologist (bat expert) Catriona Gower dons her high-viz vest. She looks up at the semiovercast sky and checks her watch. Sunset is officially 9.30pm but there is still plenty of light about. She reaches back into her car for a bundle of black boxes and a clutch ...
Don't blame the bats – VIDEO
#DontBlameBats has been launched to dispel widespread unfounded fears and myths about bats which are threatening conservation during the pandemic. Bats are mistakenly blamed for causing COVID-19. Despite the current coronavirus only ever having been identified as a human disease, bat popularity has dropped during the pandemic, with endangered bats being culled in many places in a misguided attempt to stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2. This practice is detrimental to bat conservation.
Lockdown webinars — PREDATOR FREE NZ
During the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, we hosted several webinars on a range of predator control topics. Below are the recorded versions. Webinar # 6: Tailoring your approach to suit the landscape Webinar #5: Maintaining zero predators Webinar # 4: Tailor your trap network – project design and layout Webinar # 3: AT220 for possums and rats Webinar #2: Expert trapping tips Webinar #1: Predator Free Wellington — Creating an urban environment for nature
Credits | Ghosts of Gondwana | Television | NZ On Screen
Long isolated, New Zealand contains a world of Alice Through the Looking Glass natural oddities: birds, insects and plants like nowhere else. Scientist Jared Diamond remarked "it is the nearest approach to life on another planet". Palaeontology (from Professor Michael Archer) and Māori myth (told by Hirini Melbourne) reveal these 'Ghosts of Gondwana'. Then cutting edge camera techniques (earning a Merit Award at 2002 International Wildlife Film Festival) delve into a night world of bat-filled...
We think you’ll love these
Related Interests
The remarkable world of bats
I have in my hand a small, warm bat. Wings folded, she fits perfectly in my palm, and her chestnut fur, damp from the evening dew, is spiky in a punkish sort of way. She is groggy with sleep; she has been napping-something bats do wonderfully well-while she awaited rescue from the benign trap set for her, this most unusual little mammal.
The New Zealand fossil revolution
NZ Fossil revolution - RNZ PODCAST. In the last few years there’s been a revolution in our understanding of New Zealand’s ancient animals – and it’s a revolution that shows no signs of stopping. We used to think New Zealand had always been a land of birds, bats and insects. But the latest evidence shows that about 16-19 million years ago there were two species of crocodiles here as well as a terrestrial turtle and, most surprisingly of all, not one but two mysterious small land mammals.
