Before this year, most of us had probably never heard of the New Zealand long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) – also sometimes called the long-tailed wattled bat. One of only two bat species native to New Zealand, the pekapeka-tou-roa is now a champion. As part of conservation awareness campaign, the bat ran away with the title of “Bird of the Year”, once again proving that bats are better than birds (sorry, not sorry).
More importantly, the pekapeka-tou-roa may be one of the rarest mammals in the world and is currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. This bat is distributed throughout much of the northern island of New Zealand and relies on temperate forests for its habitat. Declines in this species are largely attributed to loss of habitat through forest loss, degradation and fragmentation and introduction of nonnative predators like mongoose, rats, and cats.
Literature Cited:
O’Donnell, C. F., & Sedgeley, J. A. (1999). Use of roosts by the long-tailed bat, Chalinolobus tuberculatus, in temperate rainforest in New Zealand. Journal of Mammalogy, 80(3), 913-923.
O’Donnell, C. 2021. Chalinolobus tuberculatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T4425A21985132