Cat predation of short-tailed bats (Mystacina tuberculata rhyocobia) in Rangataua Forest, Mount Ruapehu, Central North Island, New Zealand

Abstract

Cats (Felis catus) are known predators of New Zealand bats, although all records to date have been from domestic cats thought to have caught foraging bats. We outline the first evidence of predation of short-tailed bats (Mystacina tuberculata rhyocobia) at a roost tree. A total of 156 individual bat wings (78 pairs) and 22 intact bodies were found at the base of two colonial roost trees in Rangataua Forest on the southern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, Central North Island in New Zealand, over a period of 7 days. Assuming a pair of wings belonged to one individual, at least 102 bats were killed by a male cat caught in a live trap at the base of one roost tree. No more deaths were recorded after its capture. © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2012.