Bats

Three small bats are New Zealand's only known native land mammals. One species, Mystacina robusta, may be already extinct. Both extant species of New Zealand bat are bush-dwelling animals usually seen only during twilight as they look for insects over clearings or rivers and lakes.

The lesser short-tailed bat Mystacina tuberculata and the long-tailed bat Chalinolobus tuberculatus. (the greater short-tailed bat is thought to be extinct, through predation by kiore and ship rats). Referred to by Māori as pekapeka, bats are New Zealand’s only endemic land mammals.

Long-tailed bat

The long-tailed bat is the more common species. It is found in the North Island and some of the South Island including some of the smaller outlying islands. It is the bat most likely to be seen  because its habitat can be found from sea level through to the tree line in the mountain ranges. It usually roosts and feeds along the forest edge.

Short-tailed bat

The endangered lesser short-tailed bat is an ancient species unique to New Zealand and is found only at a few sites. The lesser short-tailed bat is the only member of its family, Mystacinidae.

 It is divided into three sub-species:

•  the kauri forest short-tailed bat (found at two sites in Northland and one on Little Barrier Island)
•  the volcanic plateau short-tailed bat (found in Northland, the central North Island and Taranaki)
• and the southern short-tailed bat (found on Codfish Island and in the northwest Nelson and Fiordland areas) 

This Bats' Facts

• Short-tailed bats are small, robust and stocky with prominent pointed ears. They weigh between 11 and 15 grams.
• Short-tailed bats are found in native forests where they roost, singly or together in a group, in hollow trees such as kauri, rimu, totara, southern rata, kamahi and beech.
• The short tailed bat is thought to be a lek breeder, whereby. males compete for traditional ‘singing' posts and `sing' for a female.
• The short-tailed bat has also adapted to ground hunting and is one of the few bats in the world which spends large amounts of time on the forest floor, using its folded wings as `front limbs' for scrambling around.
• They eat insects, fruit, nectar and pollen. Insects caught in the air or on the ground. Few other bat species eat plant matter.
• They usually fly quite low, around two to three metres above the ground.
• They scramble up tree trunks and along branches with remarkable agility and they burrow in and under leaf-litter on the forest floor to search for their food. 
• They don’t do a true hibernation but go into a state of  'torpor' in cold weather for a few days and stay in their roosts.