Lesser short-tailed bat  (Mystacina tuberculata)

The lesser short-tailed bat is under threat from habitat destruction of the native forests within which it is found; 66% of New Zealand's lowland forest has been cleared to make way for development, farming and for timber extraction (4). The only native terrestrial mammal in New Zealand, these bats evolved without the threat of ground predators; however, when Europeans first arrived on the islands they brought with them rats and cats which decimated native fauna(including these unusual bats), and remain a pertinent threat today (3).

The lesser short-tailed bat is fully protected within New Zealand and is listed as a Species of Highest Conservation Priority by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (3). The Department of Conservation Bat Recovery Plan aims to conserve all bat subspecies throughout their present range and to establish new populations where possible. Research into the complex social behaviour of this little-known mammal is also being conducted (3).