| [00:00.56] |
Seeing an opportunity, |
| [00:02.46] |
the bats pounced. |
| [00:07.03] |
After all, |
| [00:08.36] |
why waste energy hawking for insects in the sky, |
| [00:11.19] |
when there is such a feast on the forest floor? |
| [00:14.38] |
New Zealand's night-time creepy-crawlies are at the mercy of these bats. |
| [00:27.78] |
Some try to put up a fight |
| [00:32.78] |
but they're no match for this army of predators. |
| [00:39.98] |
These bats have special sheaths that protect their wings, |
| [00:45.16] |
all the better to burrow through the leaves. |
| [00:53.18] |
So even worms aren't safe. |
| [01:06.51] |
The very first bat evolved from a mouse-like mammal many millions of years ago. |
| [01:13.26] |
Here on New Zealand, |
| [01:14.86] |
it seems evolution has gone into reverse. |
| [01:18.96] |
And if New Zealand's bats have turned to mice, |
| [01:24.21] |
what on earth has happened to the birds? |
| [01:27.74] |
In these forests lives a bird that |
| [01:32.45] |
is about as un-bird-like as it is possible for a bird to be. |
| [01:38.38] |
It's nocturnal, |
| [01:43.32] |
though it sometimes wakes up before sunset. |
| [01:48.56] |
It has whiskers so it can feel its way in the dark. |