ikemillennialshunt-
ingfora phonesignal,
wewanderedwithbat
detectorsheldhigh,
earsprickedforinter-
ruptionsin thehissof
static.
Eyessquintingintothelaven-
der dusk sky, my heart flutteredat
every flittingsilhouette– sadly more
pīwakawakathan pekapekaon this
occasion.
It wastheperfecteveningfordetect-
ingbatsin Auckland’sHenderson
Valley.Themosquito-ladenairwasstill
andquiet,andtheconcretepathradi-
ateda 28-degreeday.
Peachcloudsflavouredthe sky, and
asthelightfaded,anticipationgripped
thetwodozenorsoattendeesof the
evening’sbatwalk,putonbyCommu-
nityWaitakereandMcLarenParkand
HendersonSouthCommunityTrust.
Aswitheverybatwalkof theseason,
thefreeeventhadquicklybookedout,
andaftera presentationontheunique
species,wewereeachequippedwith
a batdetectorandletloose.
Primedlike fishermen,we spread
aroundtheparkto sweeptheskiesfor
sound,all eager to be the first to find
anelusivepekapeka.
Setat 40kH,thedetectorsaretunedto
pickuplong-tailedbatecholocationcalls,
whichfalloutsidetheupperlimitsof
humanhearing,whichis around20kH.
Thewalkie-talkieshapeddevices
have a directionalrange of up to 30m,
andconvertultrasonicbatcriesinto
audiblefrequencieswhichsoundlike
clicksandzipspiercingthestatic.
Aswequicklydiscovered,batsare
frustratinglynotalonein the40kH
range,andcicadas,janglingkeysand
mycamera’sautofocushadushearing
redherringsthroughoutthewalk.
Afteranhour’ssearch,ourresults
were inconclusive– a possibleflyover
detectedhere,ananonymousclick
there,anda numberoffalsealarms.
It feltunlikelythata nationallycriti-
calspeciescouldeverbedetectedin
suchanurbanarea,andI sharedin
thesurpriseof curiouspassersbywho
exclaimed,“What?Bats?Here?”.
Disbelief,however,is a commonre-
action,saysenthusiastTinaSamuelu,
whoturnedtothedarksidein 2017
after experiencing her first bat walk.Nowhookedonthehunt,thewest-
Aucklandergetsoutwithherbat
detectorto stalkthenightasoftenas
shecan.
“I justgetsucha buzzoutofit – my
heartstartspumpingandI getthat
adrenalinrush,”shesays.
AscommunitycoordinatorforMPHS
CommunityTrust,Samueluhasstarted
organisingherownbatwalks,and
she’s developeda knackfor finding
populations.
“Peoplecallmethebatwomanorthe
batwhisperer,”shelaughs.
Using her knowledgeof their feeding
behaviour,she’sdetectedspecimens
huntingin populatedsuburbsfarfrom
theirsuspectedroostsin theWaitakere
Ranges.
“Searchingin suchurbanareas,
somepeoplejustwrotemeoff,butit
didn’tdiscourageme.If youfeellike
it’stherightplaceto look,youmight
aswell.Theycouldbein your backyard
and you’d never know it.”WILDCONSERVATIONLong-tailedbats are best spotted
onwarmeveningsin springand
summer,astheyhuntonthewing.Clearingsnearthebushlinewitha
nearbywaterway are a good place
tostart.Batdetectorsarethebesttoolfor
discoveringpopulations,andcanbe
borrowedthroughAucklandCouncil
andWaikatoRegional Council, or
purchasedonline.Tooperate,tunethefrequencyto
40kH,pointthedirectionalmicro-
phonetowardsthesky,andlisten
for the echolocation clicks.TIPS
ForBAT
detecting“PrettymucheverytimeI tellpeople
whatwedo,theysay,“Wehavebats?
Dotheyhaverabies?”
WhileNewZealandis freeof rabies,
itstransmissionviabatsis a realthreat
overseas,andperhapscontributesto
thesocietalfearof a mostlyharmless
species,malignedsooftenbythehor-
rorgenre.
Even in Māori culture,the pekapeka
wasspokenof withdarkundertones- theproverb‘pekapekarereahiahi,
hokioirere po’ (the bat flies at twilight,
the hokioiflies at night) urges haste on
travellers,asthehokioi,anominous
mythicalbird,comesoutat night.
Sinisterornot,theywereeatenjust
the same by early Māori,who smoked
themoutof theirtreehollowsandcol-
lectedthemwhentheyfellto theforest
floor.
Despitetheirsinisterrap,Barclay
warmedinstantlytothe“adorable”bat,
andappreciatesthegoodworktheydo
ontheirnightshift.
“Theycaneatovera thousandmos-
quitoesin a night,whichmakesthem
oneof mybestfriends,”shesays.
Theirvoraciousappetiteforwinged
crittersseespekapekatravelupto
50kma night,whichcanmakethem
difficultto observeunlessthe location
of their roost is known.
I SHARED IN THE
SURPRISE OF
CURIOUS
PASSERSBY
WHO EXCLAIMED,
“What? Bats?
Here?”
HobbyistslikeSamueluplayanim-
portantrolein thestudyandconserva-
tionoftheendangeredpekapeka.
Theirgroundworkin detectionallows
scientiststofurthermappopulations,
andlearnmoreaboutthiselusivecrea-
tureof thenight.
CommunityWaitakerecitizenscience
coordinatorSophieBarclaylikensbat
hobbyiststo a “sciencearmy”– albeit
stilla smallone.
Communitybatwalksmaybookout
withinhours,butthespecies’presence
in Aucklandstillcomesasa shockto
most,Barclaysays– notsurprising
when a fleetingsilhouetteat dusk is
likelyallbutthemostobservantwill
ever notice of the pekapeka.54
MAY 2019