Recently I was lucky enough to visit the Waitakere ranges at night as part of a bat trapping and tracking project. Working alongside bat conservationists we set up lures and harp traps and ended up catching nine pekapeka-tou-roa (long-tailed bats) over two nights. These tiny creatures are critically endangered, as endangered as the kākāpō and so are in desperate need of study to understand how better to help them survive and thrive.