South Auckland’s high-flying residents have become more productive than ever, increasing their presence in Franklin.
A record 346 native bats (pekapeka) have been found as part of this year’s study - that’s more than double last season’s total, thanks to community efforts and Franklin Local Board’s investment in the Finding Franklin Bats programme.
Franklin Local Board chair, Alan Cole is pleased with the latest update on bats.
“A few years ago, we knew very little about Franklin’s bat population. Now we’re finding record numbers and discovering new breeding groups. That is a remarkable turnaround and shows what’s possible when local communities, iwi and conservation experts work together to restore our environment,” says chair Cole.
In the programme’s third season of surveying, bat experts are now monitoring four colonies to survey population growth.
The latest and most magical discovery is within the Beta colony’s home territory, where an all-girl power group was found to be breeding independently of its parent colony.
Senior Conservation Advisor (also known as Batman), Ben Paris is thrilled with this season’s results.
“These findings are painting an increasingly positive picture for Franklin’s bats. Most bat studies are based in Fiordland, but Franklin’s bats appear to behave much differently to other studies, really turning what we know on its head,” says Mr Paris.
“Their success is likely linked to years of local board investment in community and iwi-led bat research alongside environmental restoration and predator control programme throughout Franklin.”
And the work is far from over. Over the next two seasons, bat experts with the community will continue acoustic monitoring, harp trapping and roost surveys across all four colonies, while investigating the bats’ preferred roost trees. Pūriri and macrocarpa have already been confirmed as favourites.
Predator control efforts will expand to Kingseat, Paerātā and Waitangi Falls, helping create safer habitats for bats and other native wildlife.
If you spot a furry flying mammal or fancy learning how to zoom in on them – send out the bat signal via franklinbats@ecoquest.co.nz, facebook.com/FindingFranklinBats or instagram.com/finding_franklin_bats
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