It is that time of year: voting has opened for our most exciting election, Bird of the Year Te Manu Rongonui o Te Tau.
No stranger to controversy (voter fraud, hacking attempts) and heightened emotions (passionate ornithologists), this year's competition doesn’t disappoint as a flying mammal joins the line-up, ruffling a few feathers.
I have been bat-(no shit)-crazy since I was a kid. Something about this frighteningly cute flying mammal just appealed to my “underbird” sensibilities. Childhood drawings consisted of mouths of caves with stalagmite and stalactite teeth alongside flurries of bats. Bats of the vampiric variety were a particular point of fascination (the Scorpio in me) and I read everything and anything my eight-year-old self could get their hands on about these fanged creatures - most of which I have unfortunately not retained, so no spontaneous quizzes please.
The moral of this story is that I’m a bat-fan, so when the Bird of the Year competition announced that our gorgeous wee Pekapeka-tou-roa - or long-tailed bat - is in contention for the prize, I was ready to design some badges and start Aotearoa’s first Bat-Fan Club (not to be confused with a certain bat imitating man, he could never).
And here we are! The Ensemble Bat-Fan Club. We officially endorse the Pekapeka-tou-roa/long-tailed bat for Bird of the Year 2021.
Bats are Aotearoa’s only land-based mammals. Small as a thumb (!!) with the wingspan of a hand, our Pekapeka-tou-roa is the very definition of tiny, weighing as little as our $2 coin! Its slight size does nothing to slow it down though, as it can fly at a whopping 60 kilometres per hour. An aerial insectivore, it feeds on small moths, midges, mosquitoes and beetles.
These cute furry bats used to be common throughout New Zealand in the 1800s, although they have since become scarce with their conservation status now defined as “in serious trouble.”
For those of you still on the fence as to whether our gorgeous wee Pekapeka-tou-roa is eligible for or worthy of the prize, this Twitter intellectual sums it up rather nicely.
Still not convinced? Well okay then, time to bring out the big guns aka this stellar piece by Pekapeka-tou-roa campaign manager Peter Wills:
“These kind night flyers get a bad rap from their cousins overseas. A rap which COVID-19 has made worse. A rap they do not deserve. After winning Bat of the Year too many times to count, pekapeka-tou-roa are ready to step up to the plate. Pekapeka are more bird-like than wannabirds in this competition.
"Saying this may ruffle some feathers but can any of our flagship species fly? Pekapeka are deservedly manu. In New Zealand we believe in the underbird. We believe in the little fly. We believe that where you come from doesn't have to determine your future. Pekapeka-tou-roa, it's your time to rise up and grow our understanding of manu. Koia nei te houanga o pekapeka-tou-roa! #pekapeka”
What more needs to be said? So cast your vote now and become a proud member of Club Bat-Fan. Voting closes October 31 - appropriately, for our bat friends, on Halloween for those of you who measure time in American holidays.
The Bird of the Year competition is organised by Forest and Bird, with the aim of raising awareness for native birds (and bats!). Past winners include the kākāpō, hoiho, kererū, kea, kōkako and bar-tailed godwit.
Now enjoy these gloriously terrible bat puns, courtesy of the internet.
• The correct name for a little bat, though not endorsed by the world’s leading dictionaries, is a ‘battle’.
• Bat counselors only have one piece of advice for their clients. Just hang in there.
• Robin got kicked off the baseball team because he forgot his bat, man!
• If you cross a vampire bat and a computer, you will end up with love at first byte.
• How do bats know what's in their future? They read their horror-scope.
• What do bats have in common with dentures? They both come out in the night.
MORE BAT VIBES
WEAR
The Vampire’s Wife
LISTEN
Bat for Lashes
WATCH
Ghost World
ENJOY
The Batman trailer
