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Long-tailed bats are found in the Waitakere and Hunua Ranges, and on Little and Great Barrier Islands. In Auckland, short-tailed bats are only found on Little Barrier Island.
Region-wide surveys are needed to study the impact of development and urban pressures on nationally vulnerable native bats, and how we can help bats survive. Bats are hard to find and people may mistake them for a small birds as they dive for insects at dusk.
Auckland Council ecologists recently discovered new populations of long-tailed bats in Pakiri, Riverhead and Swanson. Numbers of long-tailed bats have declined due to habitat loss and predation by cats, possums and rats.
Kokako Management Area
The Kokako Management Area (KMA) is a 1150ha area which was set up in 1994 to protect a small remnant population of kokako in the Hunua Ranges.
At that time there was only one breeding pair left in the Hunua ranges. A pest control programme was set up and birds were translocated (from Marapa and later Tiritiri Matangi) to increase genetic diversity.
Since 1994 the Hunua project has increased to 26 breeding pairs, with the aim of 50 breeding pairs by 2020. The project success is due to the involvement of a core group of volunteers who assist Council to undertake pest control. The pest controlled area also provides benefits to other species such as Hochstetter frogs, tomtits, and bellbirds.