Bat activity detected near Te Mata Park

This citizen science project used bat echolocation detectors and community monitoring to better understand the presence, activity and behaviour of bats around Te Mata Park.

Thanks to the participation of locals, 75 bat detectors were hosted within a 25km radius of the Park, alongside 50 commercial detectors at more remote locations. Over two million sound files were collected and analysed – 70,000 were bat echolocation calls. Bat activity was recorded at more than 40 locations, and closer to the main centres of Hastings, Napier and Havelock North than ever before. The three closest recordings to the Park were captured to the south along the Tukituki River (2.77km), east of the Park (4.45km), and northwest on the outskirts of Hastings (7.29km).

While no recordings were captured within the Park itself, the nearby activity suggests bats are likely visiting the area – those visits just haven’t been detected yet.

The Bat Co. Lab’s Founding Director and Ecologist Mark Roper said, “Citizen science initiatives like the Echoes Around Te Mata project play an important role in helping researchers better understand and protect our native bat populations. By involving communities in monitoring and recording bat activity, the project not only builds valuable scientific knowledge, but also helps foster greater awareness and care for these unique taonga species.”

We look forward to collaborating with The Bat Co. Lab to run the project again next season (October – April).

Image credit: Ian Davidson-Watts