Facts about the short-tailed bat
Short-tailed bat taking flax flower
nectar
There are two species of short-tailed bat. The greater short-tailed bat (Mystacina robusta) was found on two islands off Stewart Island but following an invasion of ship rats, it was last sighted in 1967 and is probably extinct.
The endangered lesser short-tailed bat (M. tuberculata) is an ancient species unique to New Zealand and is found only at a few scattered sites. It is divided into three sub-species: the kauri forest short-tailed bat, found only at two sites in Northland and one on Little Barrier Island; the volcanic plateau short-tailed bat, known from 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.
A colony of around 300 short-tailed bats was found in the Waiohine Valley of the Tararua Forest Park in the late 1990s. The only known population of short-tailed bats in the southern North Island, it is thought they are related to both the volcanic plateau and the southern short-tailed bats. They became isolated during a glacial period in the centre of the North Island, and through volcanic activity, more than 90,000 years ago. Find out more about the Waiohine bats in Tararua Forest Park.
The lesser short-tailed bat is the only member of its family, Mystacinidae, known to still survive. It is listed by the Department of Conservation as a `species of highest conservation priority'.
- Short-tailed bats weigh 12-15 grams, have large pointed ears, a free tail and are a mousy-grey colour.
- Unlike most bats, which catch their prey in the air, the short-tailed bat has 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.
- Short-tailed bats are found in indigenous forests where they roost, singly or communally, in hollow trees. The bats go into a 'torpor' in cold weather and stay in their roosts. They wake up as soon as the weather becomes warmer.
- Thought to be a lek breeder, i.e. males compete for traditional `singing' posts and `sing' for a female.
- Its diet consists of insects, fruit, nectar and pollen and it is thought to be an important pollinator of the Dactylanthus or woodrose, a threatened parasitic plant which grows on the roots of trees on the forest floor.
back to top
Contacts
DOC HOTline - 24 hour emergency number
Phone 0800 DOC HOTline (0800 362 468) to report:
Sick or injured wildlife
Whale or dolphin strandings