A native bat, so rare it is one rung up from extinction, has set up home at Pūkaka National Wildlife Centre in Wairarapa. READ MORE:* Five kiwi killed at national wildlife centre* Rare, native long-tailed bats detected in South Wairarapa forest* Traps extended to protect Marlborough long-tailed bats"The bats are at the highest conservation threat level status of ‘nationally critical’. Long-tailed bats lived in the cavities of dead, old native trees and the reserve had 500-year old rata trees ideal for this. The long-tailed and lesser short-tailed bat are New Zealand's only two remaining species of land mammal. A third – the greater short-tailed bat – is presumed extinct, not having been seen since 1967.

Source: Stuff June 29, 2020 05:03 UTC