How to be kaitiaki for the Animal Kingdom?
In term 2 of 2017 we were wondering
How to be kaitiaki for the Animal Kingdom.
Students in our class were interested in studying native mammals of NZ that live on the land.
So we went online to find information and look at youtube clips on native terrestrial mammals.
And guess what we found?
That's right! We found out that there is only one terrestrial mammal that is native to NZ.
And it is none other than the lesser Short-tailed Bat which is also an endangered species.
So we designed a 3-D model of a Short-tailed Bat's safe sanctuary or enclosure
To start off we first drew a plan to design a short-tailed bat's enclosure like Amber's plan.
Noah and Harlem helped Bob to construct the bat's safe sanctuary in his special place or shed under the school hall.
Our friendly caretaker, Bob the builder, got a 50 by 60 cm base board and in the centre a wide tree stump was screwed on to represent a willow tree with a hollow carved out as a roosting nest for bats to sleep.
Then he attached three other wooden poles to represent the native trees in the forest.
See how eager tool-man Bob gets, once he is given the chance to assist kids in constructing their models.
Way to go Bob!
This is what our bare model turned out to look like after we sawed it, nailed it and screwed it.
It was a busy Friday afternoon for us as we painted it, pasted bits of grass, leaves, stones and sticks onto the board to create a natural forest-like habitat for our native short-tailed bats to roost in.
All we need to do now is to make a 3 D furry and cuddly short-tailed bat that hangs upside down in the hollow of the willow tree -stump in the centre.
All we need to do now is to make a 3 D furry and cuddly short-tailed bat that hangs upside down in the hollow of the willow tree -stump in the centre.
Where in NZ are the lesser short-tailed bats found?
What is the short-tailed bat's Habitat?
This is how the colony of short-tailed bats hang upside down to sleep.
These are the main predators that prey or feed on the lesser short-tailed bats.
The wood rose is is an threatened parasitic plant that lives under the ground . It grows on the roots of native trees and shrubs in the forest. If the short-tailed bat becomes extinct, so too will this rare plant. Maori know it as "pau o te reinga" which means flower of the underworld.
The bat likes to drink the nectar in this plant's flower. As the bat eats the nectar from this flower, it also pollinates the flowers. So if the bat dies out, the wood rose could die out too.
