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Long-tailed bat named winner of Bird of the Year 2021

Monday, 1 November 2021

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A native bat has been named as New Zealand’s 2021 Bird of the Year.

This year is the first time the long-tailed bat, pekapeka-tou-roa, was included in the contest.

Bats are New Zealand’s only native land mammal.

The long-tailed bat, pekapeka-tou-roa, in flight.
The long-tailed bat, pekapeka-tou-roa, in flight.

Pekapeka-tou-roa had the most number one-ranked votes – 7031 – in the contest. Kākāpō, which won in 2020, was runner-up with 4072 votes, while rifleman/titipounamu received 2808 votes.

**READ MORE:

The long-tailed bat, pekapeka-tou-roa, is the winner of New Zealand
The long-tailed bat, pekapeka-tou-roa, is the winner of New Zealand's 2021 Bird of the Year contest.

* Water zone committee backs bat for Bird of the Year

* Bat addition to Bird of the Year competition welcomed

* Rare encounters with long-tailed bats in Richmond Ranges

The Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project in Marlborough identifies long-tailed bat roost sites over the summer and works to protect their habitat.
The Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project in Marlborough identifies long-tailed bat roost sites over the summer and works to protect their habitat.

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The two-week contest, organised by Forest & Bird, closed on Sunday with more than 56,733 votes in total, the most it has ever received.

Forest & Bird spokeswoman Lauren Keown joked she thought she was going to be fired following the surprise result.

The kākāpō came second in the competition, with 4072 votes.
The kākāpō came second in the competition, with 4072 votes.

“Kiwis clearly love their native bat,” she said.

“A vote for bats is also a vote for predator control, habitat restoration, and climate action to protect our bats and their feathered neighbours.”

The Māori word ‘manu’ in the competition’s name, Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau, does not only mean birds, but includes many flying creatures including bats, Forest & Bird said.

Auckland Council senior conservation advisor Ben Paris said long-tailed bats, were a unique part of Aotearoa’s biodiversity, and were added to Forest and Bird’s competition to help people get to know them.

“There are pekapeka projects spanning the whole country with conservation communities doing great mahi (work) with our bats,” he said.

“Here in Auckland our bat conservation efforts have been supported by our targeted rate which has allowed us, together with our communities, to undertake a lot more work.

“The more citizen scientists we have out there looking for pekapeka the more conservation work we can do to understand and help them,” he said.

Elsewhere in the country, the Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project in Marlborough, run by Forest & Bird, the Department of Conservation and Ngāti Kuia, involves 250 hectares of predator control and a bat monitoring programme.

Every summer, the programme identifies roost sites and protects the long-tailed bat’s habitat.

The top 10 finishers and #1 ranked votes

  1. Long-tailed bat/pekapeka-tou-roa (7031)

  2. Kākāpō (4072)

  3. Rifleman/titipounamu (2808)

  4. Kea (2801)

  5. Antipodean albatross/toroa (2790)

  6. Black robin/kakaruia (2413)

  7. A tie between little penguin/kororā (1762) and morepork/ruru (1762)

  8. Blue duck/whio (1648)

  9. Rockhopper penguin (1603)