Bat Recovery Project
This Forest & Bird initiative to protect pekapeka (long-tailed bats) from predators in the catchment began nearly two decades ago, with the addition of bat monitoring in 2018. In December 2021, the Bat Recovery Project secured a boost to expand the programme by partnering with Te Hoiere Project and the Government’s Jobs for Nature programme. Today, this predator control, monitoring, and habitat restoration programme is securing the protection of this threatened species in key locations across the catchment.
Pekapeka are a threatened (nationally critical) species, meaning they are at a high risk of extinction. New Zealand’s only true land mammal, these bats can be found feeding on small moths and mosquitoes at Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve and other sites managed by the Department of Conservation.
Long-tailed bat photo: Colin O'Donnell, Department of Conservation
While Forest & Bird has had a dedicated trapping network in the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve to protect roosting sites for years, the current three-year funding boost is the first major effort to protect and restore pekapeka habitats in the area. This work not only focuses on the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve, but three other DOC managed reserves in the Rai Valley—Brown River Reserve, Carluke Scenic Reserve and Ronga Recreation Reserve—where there was previously little to no predator management.
The 2023 summer season marked the fifth year of bat monitoring, where the priority shifted from Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve to the less-studied Rai Valley subpopulation. A thermal imaging device (infra-red) was also used for the first time in the Bat Recovery Project, to collect information about roosting locations. This monitoring informs management decisions about where to control predators and restore habitats.
In 2023-2024, a sixth season of bat monitoring was undertaken across Pelorus Bridge and Rai Reserves, followed with a second round of acoustic monitoring as far south as Kaituna. Predator monitoring and control also ramped up. A Predator Control Officer was hired. With the help of Ngāti Kuia, F&B has established a high-density trapping network across two reserves in Rai; and with the help of Department of Conservation, F&B has also established predator monitoring across three Rai reserves.
In winter 2024, six hectares of seedlings were planted in the Ronga Reserve to restore this pekapeka habitat for generations to come. The work is ongoing for Forest & Bird, which has also undertaken rat and wasp poisoning at the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve over the past year. Rat poisoning is expected to continue at Pelorus Bridge, as the numbers remain high.
Additional information
Read the full Season 5 report by clicking here
Learn more about the project through Forest & Bird
Learn more about these native species with the Department of Conservation
Photos above show the 2022-2023 season, including the 5th year of bat monitoring. Photos: Connor Wallace, Forest & Bird
Photos above show the 2023-2024 season. This includes season 6 of bat monitoring; Department of Conservation rangers Phil and Colin help the F&B Ecoteam (Clare, Jess and Henry) transfer traps across the river to Ronga; rodent monitoring; preparations in 2023 for the 2024 Ronga Reserve plantings; planting of 20,400 native trees in Ronga; and calibration of traps for Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve (DOC200).
Photos: Forest & Bird
