Bat Roost Trees, Pleasant Point Domain

Sat 14.07.18. I live on Afghan St, diagonally opp Pleasant Point domain, which includes sports fields, camping ground & a pleasant walk around part of the golf course beneath a mix of mature, exotic trees & native trees. The circular walk from my home takes about half an hour.

Last week when I did my circuit round the golf course, I saw 3 mature, exotic trees, including a redwood, along the path, which had anti-predator, metal sleeves hammered onto the boles & above each anti-predator sleeve, a round disk reading:

Bat Roost Tree. Protected under the Wildlife Act 1953.

As there were native trees & shrubs growing beneath the exotics, like pittosporums & cabbage trees, it was daft that only exotic trees were used as roosts. Bat roosts were wishful thinking, as there was no bat crap beneath any domain trees, including the so-called Bat Roost Trees. The only crap I saw below trees was bird crap signified by feathers fallen from nests.

Perhaps Council & DOC could be proactive & plant more natives like totara, matai & kahikatea as potential Bat Roost Trees.

Geraldine, another South Canterbury town, about 25 kms away, boasted on their tourist, toilet murals about being the home of the NZ long tailed bat, Chalinolobus tuberculatus.

Today, I did my circuit around Pleasant Point domain & looked out for the long tailed bats roosting in the Bat Roost Trees during mid afternoon, bat roost time. Not a single bat was seen!

In future, if I see any bats I'll keep you posted...

A July 2018, Environment Canterbury (ECAN) pamphlet read:

                 South Canterbury

The Long-Tailed Bat (pekapeka) is a shy
South Canterbury native, classified as
'endangered / nationally critical' by DOC
An estimated population of just 2,300 can
be found within a triangle from Geraldine to
Cave and down to Temuka, A project between
Environment Canterbury, DOC and forestry
company Port Blakely is removing possums,
rats, weasels and stoats from the area on
Port Blakely's land to help protect the bats.
These predators kill adult bats & pups,
so keeping their numbers down is key to
maintaining the bat population.

ECAN did not say Port Blakely was a USA logging company, nor acknowledge that humans are the biggest predator of all, nor say what native trees Port Blakely company was planting, if any. Never mind all the slash pollution by forestry when harvesting trees, like radiata pine or douglas fir, leaving blots on the landscape for years, enabling exotic pests like broom & gorse to invade. When forestry companies & farmers burn slash on temperature inversion, wintry days, fires cause smoke pollution for miles around on Canterbury plains. Big companies love the conservation charade. I worked for DeBeers in SA in the 1980s & they did similar conservation, propaganda BS, exploiting the land.

ECAN did not acknowledge that most exotic, forestry logs were exported, causing local firewood costs to rocket. I live beside SH8 and log trucks frequently pass, transporting logs to Timaru harbour for export. A wander around Timaru harbour enables anyone with eyes to see acres of export logs, piled high. Pity bats & ECAN bullshit!

Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

See Long Tailed Bat (DOC).

See Port Blakely logging

See ECAN.