New Zealand long-tailed bat facts for kids

The New Zealand long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus), also called the long-tailed wattled bat or pekapeka-tou-roa (in Māori), is a special type of bat. It is one of only two bat species found only in New Zealand. This bat is related to five other "wattled" or "lobe-lipped" bats found in Australia and other places.

About the Bat

The long-tailed bat is a small brown bat. It usually weighs about 8 to 12 grams, which is like a few coins. It has a long tail connected by a thin skin flap to its back legs. This helps tell it apart from New Zealand's other bat, the short-tailed bat.

These bats use echolocation to find their way around and hunt. This means they make sounds and listen for the echoes. Some people can even hear their calls because they are at a lower sound frequency.

The long-tailed bat can fly very fast, up to 60 kilometers per hour! It also has a very large home area, covering about 100 square kilometers. We don't know exactly how long these bats live, but they can live for more than nine years. Their body temperature and how fast their bodies work can change a lot. They are also the main home for a special type of New Zealand bat flea.

What They Eat

Long-tailed bats hunt by catching insects while flying. This is called "hawking." Flies are their favorite food. They also eat many moths and beetles. These bats are not picky eaters; they will eat whatever insects are common in their area.

Where They Sleep (Roosting)

New Zealand long-tailed bats are very careful about where they choose to sleep. These sleeping spots are called "roosts." They prefer roosts that are low down in valleys, less than 500 meters from the edge of a forest.

The bats like tall, wide trees, especially old red beech trees or dead trees (called snags). About three-quarters of the roost trees found in the South Island were at least 100 years old! The bats sleep in small holes inside these trees. These holes are usually warm and humid.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Both male and female bats can have babies after they are one year old. Most females have their first baby when they are two or three years old.

It is thought that bats mate in February and March, just before they go into a deep sleep for winter. Female bats give birth to one baby during the New Zealand summer (December and January). The mother bat takes care of her baby all by herself.

Mothers gather with other females in special "maternity roosts." These groups can have up to 120 bats. A few adult males and females who are not having babies also join these groups. These groups of bats move to new trees almost every day. They might break into smaller groups or join together into bigger ones. In some areas, bats also use limestone caves, but mostly just for resting at night between feeding times.

Baby bats learn to fly about 40 days after they are born. They are likely done drinking their mother's milk within ten days of learning to fly.

Conservation

The New Zealand long-tailed bat first got legal protection under the New Zealand Wildlife Act 1953. The Department of Conservation in New Zealand has listed this bat as "Nationally Critical." This means it is in great danger. They also added "Conservation Dependent," which means it needs ongoing help to survive. This is because experts predict its numbers will drop by more than 70%.

The bats prefer very large, old trees for sleeping. This makes them at risk if these trees are cut down. They might also be in danger from windfarms, unless they can be safely moved away from them.

See also

In Spanish: Chalinolobus tuberculatus para niños