Source: NZ Department of Conservation
Pekapeka/bats hold a special place in Kiwi hearts as New Zealand’s only native land mammals, but how do these tiny nocturnal fliers respond to artificial light? As it turns out, not well.
Krysia Nowak
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Bats are often associated with horror movies, featuring in many a dimly-lit vampire castle, hanging out in spooky caves, and generally sending chills down the spines of delighted audiences. These days, we know bats are more adorable than scary (seriously, look at that face), but classic cinema’s dim lighting is more on the money than some might think.
A team of University of Waikato researchers and Department of Conservation scientists have investigated pekapeka behaviour around artificial lights, and found it disrupts their natural behaviour. Not quite enough to warrant a new horror movie, but certainly enough to reduce pekapeka survival and recovery.
Pekapeka are Aotearoa New Zealand’s only native land mammals, and aren’t found anywhere else in the world. We know of two species still surviving, the lesser short-tailed pekapeka and the long-tailed pekapeka and both are at risk of extinction (a third species may already be extinct). As humans, we can help improve their odds by understanding how to light our world in a pekapeka-friendly way.
International research shows artificial light can alter bat flight paths and interfere with their circadian cycles. That’s the system that helps animals (and humans) know when they should be active, informing their sleep and hunting patterns. It’s also why we’re not meant to use screens right before bed, since the bright blue light makes your body think it’s still time to be active.
When bats fly the long way around to avoid light, they use more energy and need to eat more to rebuild their energy stores. Kind of like how you might want to eat a bit more for breakfast if you’d had to hike for half an hour to get to it.
Our research in Aotearoa shows artificial light at night can reduce how often bats use an area, reducing the foraging area available to them and making them work harder to feed themselves. Artificial light can also delay arrival at a lit feeding site by around two hours. That’s two fewer hours of foraging, night after night, which can leave a bat hungry and affect survival and reproduction.
And yes, some bats do adapt and forage around lights where insects gather, but this brings different risks for bats, like the increased chance of being killed by a cat or ruru.
The good news is we can help, without needing to return to the (literal) dark ages.
DOC Senior Science Advisor Kerry Borkin says it’s not a blanket “No” to artificial lighting, but more a call for people to think about when and where this lighting is needed.
“Do you need to have stadium-bright lighting all night? Could it be a warm coloured light on a timer or a sensor? Asking these kinds of questions can help us choose lighting which works best for our purposes and for pekapeka,” says Kerry. “And it’s probably good for your power bill too.”
Warm-coloured lights are readily available and are better for you as well as your friendly neighbourhood pekapeka. Warm light LEDs have been shown to reduce the number of pesky insects attracted to your outdoor patio or party, when compared to cool light. I mean, assuming popularity among insects isn’t what you’re aiming for. The warmer light also doesn’t mess with your circadian rhythms as much as nighttime cool light, so you’ll be more likely to sleep better.
To help communities, consultants, and developers make good lighting decisions, DOC worked with Bryter Science to create science briefs, which have been translated into te reo Māori by Piripi Walker.
Kerry says these two-page briefs help explain why and how artificial light needs to be carefully managed.
“We’ve really pulled it back to the essential knowledge, so you don’t have to go hunting it out. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to make good lighting decisions.”
So, overall, artificial light isn’t great for bats. No wonder they’re hanging out in horror movie sets! But you don’t actually have to walk around in dim lighting with tension-building music in the background… unless you want to, of course. However, next time you’re installing new exterior lighting, or planning to leave the curtains open all night, maybe consider how it will affect your non-human neighbours like pekapeka.
How artificial light at night affects pekapeka, and responsible lighting principles:
How artificial light affects us and other species, and how we can use a responsible lighting approach to reduce light pollution:
Other resources for bat workers include planting guides, protocols for minimising risk from tree felling, and more.
Learn more about New Zealand bats/pekapeka
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/10/20/shining-a-light-figuratively-on-pekapeka/