Bats an elusive hit with public at Raincliff Forest
A project to enlighten and educate the public about native longtailed bats is proving a success.
More than 50 people jumped on a bus at Pleasant Point on Tuesday night and headed to Raincliff Forest for a late night guided walk to learn about them.
Environment Canterbury (ECan) biodiversity officer Robert Carson-Iles said the event proved so popular that it was booked out and the next night walk, scheduled for February 19, is also full.
Work with the bats has been an ongoing partnership between ECan, the Department of Conservation and local landowners, he said.
South Canterbury has a population of about 300 bats, the only population of long-tailed bats on the east coast of the South Island, Carson-Iles said.
Tuesday’s event was an opportunity for people to see the bats but rough weather contributed to poor visibility.
‘‘We spent much of Tuesday putting out nets in hope of catching a bat.
‘‘It was always a gamble and we didn’t see any but we had hand-held detectors which captured their activity.’’
Carson-Iles said the aim of the project was to build awareness around the bats, their populations, and their habitats.
‘‘I was really impressed to see how enthusiastic people were.’’
On the endangered scale, the species is regarded as nationally critical.
In November, ECan, NetCon, Ullrich Aluminium, Port Blakely and DOC joined forces in a project aimed at protecting the nesting areas from predators like stoats, cats, possums and rats.
The project will see wide aluminium bands fitted around the trunks of each roost tree in the forest in an effort to prevent predators climbing the trees.