An Englishwoman has gone batty for the Catlins, writes Diana Noonan
Bats may purr when content, weigh as little as 2g and fly more than 160km in a single night. That's just some of the astonishing snippets of information Catriona Gower drops into the conversation as we discuss her seemingly endless fascination with these nocturnal mammals.
A bat expert (a chiropterologist - chiroptera means ''hand wing'') from the United Kingdom, now living and working in the Catlins, Gower first became entranced with bats in 1989 when, as an urban ranger, she attended a training session taken by world bat authority Andrew Watson.
Since then, she has seldom been anywhere for any period of time without carrying her beloved bat detector with her.
But how often does she actually see these mysterious nocturnal mammals?
''It all depends where I am in the world,'' she explains, ''and in many ways, whether or not I sight a bat isn't as significant as the `bat chatter' I pick up on the detector. It's listening to what's happening that tells me so much.''
The clicks (another word for the echo-locating sounds emitted by the bats) and the frequency with which they occur, are the clues to understanding the animals' behaviour. From these, Gower can identify individual species, tell if the animals are feeding or simply flying past, and estimate numbers in a locality.
And thanks to modern technology, she can now compare her findings with sound files stored on various internet sites.
So, given how much one can learn about bats without ever actually seeing them, is chiropterology likely to be of significant interest to the vision-impaired or blind?
''Not especially so,'' Gower says, ''but, interestingly enough, blind people are themselves now being taught to use echo-location to determine where objects are. By making clicking noises, they can, in a similar way to bats, gain knowledge of their surroundings.
What people are sometimes surprised to find is that some hearing-impaired members of the public find searching for bats a fascinating activity. Without access to sound, it's possible for them to feel the vibrations of bat calls through a detector, and gain an appreciation of just what the animals are up to.
Endlessly interesting though they may be at an academic level, in order to devote so much time to the study of bats, surely there has to be a certain degree of ''falling in love'' with them.
''Absolutely,'' admits Gower.
''Bats are very cute. Either that or extremely ugly, which, if you think about pug dogs, is a kind of cuteness in itself. Bats have very pronounced ears. In some species, the pinnae [the outer sections] are so large the bat may `relax' them out and down, which results in a rather endearing look. And, of course, bats are furry. Some of them even have furry tails.
"They're also highly intelligent, social animals. Bats like the company of other bats. They roost together, and learn from and communicate with each other. And in my experience of caring for injured bats, they also relate well to humans.''
Gower should know. She once arrived at a veterinary clinic in the UK to collect an injured bat. When she lifted back the bloodied cloth it was wrapped in, and knew immediately that the tiny creature's wing-injury meant it would never fly again, she had to make the decision of whether to agree to euthanasia or commit to 30-40 years of caring for the animal, as some species of bats can live that long.
''Actually, there was no decision,'' she says.
''I took Rose [as she was later named] home, and she lived with me for seven years, at which point I decided to move to New Zealand and handed her over to a bat-devotee couple from a local bat group, who will continue to care for her.''
Listening to Gower talk about Rose is enough to make anyone want to sign up for chiropterology studies.
''Rose happily fed from my hand,'' Gower continues.
''She liked sitting on my head, would purr on my shoulder and enjoyed sleeping in the pocket of my jumper. Bats like to be at the highest point of whatever they are on and, as Rose couldn't fly, her exercise was to climb the flight of stairs in my apartment. I'd put her at the bottom, stand at the top until she climbed up to me [many bats are as comfortable moving on the ground as they are flying] and then we'd start the workout all over again.''
Despite all of the foregoing, it was not bats that brought Gower to New Zealand.
''My decision to emigrate wasn't to do with bats, though, of course, the bat detector came with me. I was actually looking for a science teaching job, which wasn't as easy to find as I'd hoped. While the search continued,
"I took myself on bat-hunting expeditions round the country, but it was very difficult to get information on where they might be found. I estimate that 90% of New Zealanders aren't actually aware there are bats in this country. People who did know something about them would point vaguely in a direction where they had heard bats could be found, and off I'd go, but I'd inevitably pick up no sound on the detector.''
It was a bus journey into the Eglinton Valley, the ''holy grail'' for New Zealand chiropterologists, that was the most frustrating experience for Gower.
''It was daylight, I didn't have my own transport, I was with a coach full of people who wanted to see Milford Sound, and we stopped in one or two places for just five minutes at a time.''
Not surprisingly, she didn't have a single bat encounter. Which made her Catlins discovery all the more extraordinary.
''I was hitchhiking up the Owaka Valley on my way to locate mohua [yellowheads], when I met Mary and Fergus Sutherland of Catlins Wildlife Trackers.''
It was a fortuitous meeting given that the Sutherlands had a keen interest in native bats themselves, and particularly in learning about any local populations that might exist.
One thing led to another and after discussions with the Sutherlands, Gower agreed to stay on and conduct bat research in the area. To date she has monitored 79 potential bat locations, of which about 48 sites have returned positive results. She's attended a bat conference, given a public talk on chiropterology complete with bat field trip along the edge of the Catlins River (during which bats were detected), and spoken about her work to classes at the local area school. She has also forged a connection with UK bat enthusiasts which has resulted in the donation of four bat detectors for use in the Catlins Bat Project.
''Long-tailed bats are here in the Catlins,'' she says, smiling.
''We can't be sure of numbers but the population is undoubtedly benefiting from the predator control [the Department of Conservation] is undertaking to protect the mohua.''
That's understandable given that a single rat, stoat or feral cat can kill an entire roost of bats in one night. Whether short-tailed bats are present in the Catlins Gower has yet to discover. The last known sighting was documented in 1899 at Slope Point, in Southland. The bat in question was caught live, later killed and is now on display in the Southland Museum.
''My job now, along with bat monitoring and mapping, is to document my findings, educate others about native bats and bat conservation, especially here in the Catlins, and to keep `talking bats' to raise awareness of this little-understood New Zealand native,'' Gower says.
Which is why you shouldn't be surprised if you suddenly find the subject of bats being raised in the most unlikely of places.
''I talk bats wherever I go,'' Gower says.
''Even at bus stops. It's not a subject that's likely to come up unless I raise it but, once I do, you'd be surprised by what can result. Whether it's a request for more information or an anecdote from someone who's heard from someone else that bats have been sighted recently or in the past, it's all grist to the mill where my research is concerned.''
And with no plans to leave the Catlins in the near future, we can expect to hear a lot more about bats from South Otago's own resident chiropterologist.
If you have information (present or past) on bats in your area, contact your nearest Department of Conservation office. If your information pertains to bats in the Catlins, contact Catriona Gower at catlinsbats@gmail.com
