Bat wins New Zealand Bird of the Year competition

A species of bat has won the annual Bird of the Year competition, in a big surprise to New Zealand’s birds, as it ranks among the country’s only indigenous wild mammals.

Forest and Bird voted for the Bird of the Year, winning the long-tailed bat, one of two bats in the country and one of the world’s rarest mammals. It is about the size of a thumb and the size of a bee when it is born.

HOLY SHIT GOOD NEWS FOLKS, PEKAPEKA-TOU-ROA IS CROWNED BIRD OF THE YEAR!!! WE DID IT COMRADES 👑👑👑👑 #TEAMPEKAPEKA pic.twitter.com/QSTalplBXT

— artie (he/him) 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈💚 (@greeniememes) October 31, 2021

Voting closed on Sunday night, which was appropriate for Halloween. Lacey Heathler of Forest and Bird Group announced the winner on Monday.

The bat got 3,000 votes, she said, adding that this year’s contest got the largest number of total votes in the contest’s 17-year history. “We got 58,000 votes and they came from all over the world,” she said.

We had 58,561 verified votes, coming from 100 countries. And in stark contrast to previous years, no attempts at voter fraud! https://t.co/4tDfJLaQI7

— Forest & Bird (@Forest_and_Bird) November 1, 2021

When asked if entering bats was a stunt, she replied, “No, bats are the only land mammal in New Zealand, and they are classified as protected nationally. They face many of the same threats as our native birds, so this year we thought we’d try Make more people aware of that.”

She added that rats, possums, stoats and cats all pose a major threat to this species, and are responsible for a decline in their numbers of about 5% annually. Strong supporters may have helped the bat vote, and the New Zealand Ministry of Environment has announced that it supports the campaign.

https://twitter.com/challis_erica/status/1454894982674862087?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1454894982674862087%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Farabic.sputniknews.com%2Fsociety%2F202111011050595090-D8AED981D8A7D8B4-D98AD981D988D8B2-D8A8D985D8B3D8A7D8A8D982D8A9-D8B7D8A7D8A6D8B1-D8A7D984D8B9D8A7D985-D981D98A-D986D98AD988D8B2D98AD984D986D8AFD8A7%2F

In second place, the only night parrot and last year’s champion, Kakar. In third place was the tītipounamu, or man of the gun, who the Maori people regarded as a messenger of the gods. In fourth place was the shy Kea, the only alpine parrot in the world known to destroy cars and be exceptionally intelligent. In fifth place was the Antipodean albatross, one of New Zealand’s largest seabirds.