Aucklanders are being given the chance to go bat hunting after long tailed bats (pekapeka) were discovered to have returned to urban Henderson for the first time in 15 years in April.
Auckland Council credits stream restoration and pest control work to bringing the bats back into town.
The council's biodiversity department is now allowing residents to borrow echolocation detectors free of charge to track down the bats and see them for themselves.
The detectors work by picking up sounds made by bats inaudible to humans and turning them into audible clicks and buzzes.
Long tailed bats tend to favour areas that are near water, open and have plenty of mature trees for roosting. They can fly up to 60km/h and will roost in different areas each night.
Bats are active in warmer temperatures and feed around dawn and dusk, so a warm spring evening is best for bat spotting.
Newshub.
