The numbers of New Zealand's two rare native bat species are declining, except in areas that are under intensive predator control.
To increase their chances of thriving, more than 100 conservation professionals came together at the national bat conference to discuss how we can better protect them.
A native long-tailed bat is being nurtured back to health by Hamilton Zoo after being attacked by a pet cat.
"The people who owned a cat found that there was a bat that had been injured and they immediately took it into the vet," said Department of Conservation (DoC) science advisor Kerry Borkin.
Its story of survival is a conservation success story because others aren't so lucky.
"They are not doing well overall. They are all classed as threatened to varying degrees," said DoC principal scientist Colin O'Donnell.
And it's protecting our two native bat species - the long and short-tailed bat - that is the main focus of the three-day national bat conference that's being held in Waikato.
"It's talking about things that are threats to them, how we survey and monitor them and how we can work together to protect them," said DoC ecologist Jess Scrimgeour.
"People in society enjoy loving them or hating them but they are also really important for pollination and seed dispersal. The other big one is they are natural insecticides," added O'Donnell.
Scientists say our native bat populations are likely to be declining by up to 9 percent each year. However in predator-controlled areas numbers are increasing.
"Long-tailed bats you are likely to find them in many different places... and they are quite adaptable so whether it's in a native forest, even all the way through to here in Hamilton which is one of the only populations where they are still able to hold onto an urban area. Short-tailed bats however find them in old-growth forests," Scrimgeour said.
Our native bats are tiny. The short-tailed bat weighs around four teaspoons of sugar while the long-tailed bat weighs around three.
If you do happen to come across an injured bat, DoC has some advice.
"Injured bats need help straight away. You're best to call the DoC hotline and to follow their advice," Borkin said.
To try and help save our native bat species.
