Bat ‘winning by quite a lot’ in New Zealand’s Bird of the Year contest

Trailing the bat in second place was the kkp - a large, flightless parrot and the competition's reigning champ from last year

New Zealand's native birds have long been threatened by mammalian arrivals. Now, they are being thrashed by a mammal in the one arena that they might have expected dominance - the country's annual bird of the year competition.

The election, run by Forest and Bird, allowed a surprise entry this year from the pekapeka-tou-roa, or long tailed bat, one of New Zealand's only land-based native mammals. On Tuesday, Forest and Bird officials confirmed to the Guardian that the bat is winning in current polls by a considerable margin.