Today, I completely Thursday’s Step It Up activity with the Pekapeka or the New Zealand’s native bats. For this task, I learnt a little about the Pekapeka and their threat. After learning about mustelids and feral cats being the main predators, I had to design a predator free roosting box for the Pekapeka.
My designing includes a nice high pole under the box to blend in the environment, like tree. The predator guard is a upside down cone that made of extra slippery, anti-grip material so the mustelids and feral cats cannot climb straight up or from the side, and if they try to cling onto the guard, they will slip off and fall. The entrance is under the box but above the predator guard so the Pekapeka can climb naturally and safely into their nest. I also added some bats silhouettes as decoration, identification and some breathing holes. There is an inspection door for the bat keepers or DOC (Department of Conservation) researchers to check.
Here is my design on Canva.
If you are the predator, how will you outsmart this system?