Seeing an opportunity

The bats pounced

After all

Why waste energy hawking for insects in the sky

When there is such a feast on the forest floor

New Zealand's night-time creepy-crawlies are at the mercy of these bats

Some try to put up a fight

But they're no match for this army of predators

These bats have special sheaths that protect their wings

All the better to burrow through the leaves

So even worms aren't safe

The very first bat evolved from a mouse-like mammal many millions of years ago

Here on New Zealand

It seems evolution has gone into reverse

And if New Zealand's bats have turned to mice

What on earth has happened to the birds

In these forests lives a bird that

Is about as un-bird-like as it is possible for a bird to be

It's nocturnal

Though it sometimes wakes up before sunset

It has whiskers so it can feel its way in the dark