Online voters have done it again… by not choosing a bird for the Forest & Bird conservation charity’s Bird of the Year award. The award instead went to the pekapeka-tou-roa better known as the Long-tailed Bat. This is the first time a non-bird has won the award. According to UPI, it’s likely thanks to a decision made to include it on the list of finalists to raise awareness and support for the species and to online voters, hers who never shy away from voting something odd into existence.
In a statement, Bird of the Year spokeswoman Laura Keown said, “A vote for bats is also a vote for predator control, habitat restoration, and climate action to protect our bats and their feathered neighbors!” And the Long-tailed Bats need a bit of good press because they’re listed as “nationally critical” by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
Perhaps giving bats a chance at some good PR created some synergy for Forest & Bird because 56,733 votes were cast, the most in the competition’s history. To win the award, the Long-tailed Bat received 7,031 votes, giving it a big enough lead against the second-place finisher and last year’s winner, the kakapo, which received only 4,072 votes.
Cover Photo: Xinhua News Agency (Getty Images)
MORE NEWS:
Entertainment News 11 15 21
-
Sexy Wrestler Paige Van Zant Posts Thong Photos on Instagram (And We Are Down For the Count)
Read more here.
Photo: Instagram
-
Dakota Johnson to Gift Butt Plugs This Holiday Season, How Do We Get on Her Naughty List?
Read more here.
Photo: Karwai Tang / Contributor (Getty Images)
-
Ranked! The Best Batsuits Including Bulletproof Armor For Robert Pattinson’s ‘The Batman’
Read more here.
Photo: Warner Bros.
-
Mandatory Tweets: The Funniest Twitter Reactions to Paul Rudd Being Named People’s Sexiest Man Alive
Read more here.
Photo: NBC (Getty Images)
-
Mandatory Food Trends: Justin Bieber Is Teaming Up With…Who? And Why?
Read more here.
Photo: Tim Horton's
-
Listen to Howard Stern Rip Aaron Rodgers a New One Over Covid Vaccine Controversy
Read more here.
Photo: Kevin Mazur / Contributor (Getty Images)
-
Mandatory Funniest Tweets: Big Bird Takes a Beating For Announcing He Got the Vaccine, It’s Hard Out There on the (Sesame) Street
Read more here.
Photo: Matthew Peyton / Stringer (Getty Images)
-
New Dating Show ‘The Love Trap’ Literally Drops Rejected Female Contestants Through Trapdoor, Gives New Meaning to Getting Dumped
Read more here.
Photo: Channel4
-
Dollhouse Artist Recreates ‘Friends’ Central Perk Set, Perfect Depiction of Miniature White Privilege
Read more here.
Photo: New York Post
-
Mandatory Tweets: Elon Musk Changes Name to Lorde Edge and Twitter Is Full of Conspiracies and Funny Jabs
Read more here.
Photo: Pool (Getty Images)
