August 15, 2022
Pekapeka peril in cat vs bat battle
A Department of Conservation bat scientist wants to learn more about the interactions of early Māori with native bats.
Dr Kerry Borkin has just published a paper in the NZ Journal of Zoology about the increasing threat to the rare native pekapeka from both feral and domestic cats.
She says little is known about pre- European Māori and New Zealand’s only native land-based mammal.
“We’re hoping to have someone beginning to study that further later this year but what I do know is some stages there were people who used to eat pekapeka as part of a reliable food source,” Dr Borkin says
If whanau want to help protect bats and other native species can do an online quiz on the DOC site to see how conservation-friendly their pet cat is.