Maternity colony (bats) Maternity colony (bats) A maternity colony refers to a temporary association of reproductive female bats for giving birth to, nursing, and weaning their pups. The colonies are initiated by pregnant bats. After giving birth, the colony consists of the lactating females and their offspring. After weaning, juveniles will leave the maternity colony, and the colony itself will break apart. The size of a maternity colony is highly variable by species, with some species forming colonies consisting of ten or fewer individuals, while the largest maternity colony in the world in Bracken Cave is estimated to have over 15 million bats.
BATS Theatre to much of Wellington's young and experimental theatrical talent, with titles such as "On the Conditions and Possibilities of Helen Clark Taking Me as Her Young Lover", "The Intricate Art of Actually Caring" and "After Kafka". BATS frequently hosts two or three different plays in one night. Many productions which started at BATS have gone on to gain national and international success, including many significant new New Zealand plays. Successful and memorable productions include the farce "The Sex Fiend" (1989) by Stephen Sinclair and Danny Mulheron, Ken Duncum's "Blue Sky Boys" (1991), "Verbatim" (1993) by Miranda Harcourt, "Frangipani Perfume" (1998)