A colony of rare native bats has been discovered beside the Kepler Track Great Walk, in Fiordland National Park.
The long-tailed bats are on national critical and endangered lists.
The colony, of about 100, is just the second to be found in Fiordland.
Department of Conservation rangers found the earlier this month after automatic detectors recorded them.
Tauranga Polytechnic students had recorded the bats near Lake Te Anau.
DOC biodiversity ranger Jo Whitehead says protection for the bats' habitat is vital as they do not know how to transfer the species to a predator-free location.
Ms Whitehead says rats have decimated the native bat population which is particularly vulnerable while breeding over summer.
