‘A fish or snake next year?’: Bat named Bird of the Year in New Zealand

Pekapeka-tou-roa, a native New Zealand bat, has been named the country’s ‘Bird of the Year,’ much to the surprise and displeasure of many people. The annual ‘Bird of the Year’ competition was started by Forest and Bird, an independent conservation organisation, to spread awareness about New Zealand’s native wildlife and the threats to their habitats. The competition requires voters to pick the top 5 birds out of the listed birds every year. The organisation tweeted that this year it had received 58,561 verified votes from 100 countries.

However, the choice of a native mammal instead of a bird for this year’s title has caused a controversy, with many people expressing disbelief over a mammal winning the award. Others joked on Twitter they were sure that the next year’s winner would be a fish or a snake.

Climate change, farming cause Turkey’s lake Tuz to dry up

Forest and Bird said the Pekapeka-tou-roa or the long-tailed bat, one of New Zealand’s two land mammals, was added in the Bird of the Year list because “these flying furballs are threatened by the same problems as our native birds – predators, habitat loss and climate change.”

It was also the first time that Forest and Bird had chosen a native mammal for the competition.

Tweeting the news, Forest and Bird said, “Despite being our only endemic land mammal, most people don’t even know they exist, which makes their win even more outstanding.”

Explainer: How wildfires impact wildlife, their habitat

Forest & Bird spokesperson Laura Keown said in a statement that while the country’s bats face the risk of being endangered. “They live side-by-side with our native birds, roost in hollow trees, and only come out at night to feast on insects… But many people don’t even know they exist. Maybe that’s how they snuck into the competition under cover of darkness.”

Animal rights group calls for end to dolphin slaughter in Faroe Islands

Spokesperson for the bat campaign Ben Paris said the Bird of the Year competition seemed like a great opportunity for people to learn more about the bats.

Others speculate that the bat was allowed entry into the competition to salvage its image following the species’ association with the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the New Zealand Department of Conservation, “The long-tailed bat is classed as ‘nationally critical’ and short-tailed bat subspecies range from ‘nationally vulnerable’ to ‘recovering’. But they are in danger of extinction if we don’t protect them.”