I.n New Zealand this year’s “Bird of the Year” title does not go to a bird, but to a bat. “The kiwis love their native bat and have decided that our only endemic land mammal should be the bird of the year 2021,” said Laura Keown of the environmental organization Forest & Bird, which has the winner voted every year via online voting.
The spokeswoman left no doubt that the choice of the roughly thumb-sized New Zealand ragged bat for “Bird” of the Year was not a mistake, but a calculated move. “The campaign to raise awareness and support for this tiny, flying ball of fur has kept the nation in suspense,” Keown said, according to a statement on Monday. She jokingly added, “I think I’ll get fired for it!”
“In competition so that people get to know you”
The New Zealand lobed bat (called pekapeka-tou-roa by the New Zealanders) was the only mammal species on the island in the southern Pacific until the arrival of the European settlers with another bat. Later introduced mammals such as cats, rats and martens also spread. In New Zealand, this unique part of New Zealand’s biodiversity is previously unknown to many people, said Ben Paris, nature conservation advisor for the Auckland city council. “These bats were included in the competition so that people could get to know them,” said Paris. Due to the unusual vote, her story now goes around the world. In fact, this time the competition had 56,733 more votes than ever before. More than 7,000 votes were received for the small bat species, whose wingspan is no larger than the palm of your hand and whose weight is no more than a coin. In second place was the Kākāpō, a flightless New Zealand parrot species.
The response to the unusual choice was mixed on social media. Some were “deeply disappointed”, spoke of a “farce” and a “stolen election”. A Twitter user ironically suggested nominating “a lizard” as bird of the year in the coming year. Others believe in a necessary image improvement for the bats after they fell into disrepute because of the alleged animal origins of the corona virus.
Forest & Bird pointed out in the competition that the bat species is exposed to a large number of threats and therefore required special protection. The mammals lived “side-by-side” with the native birds, Ben Paris had said during the course of the competition. “But a lot of people don’t even know they exist. Perhaps in this way they managed to sneak into the competition under cover of darkness. “
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