Taronga Zoo is celebrating its first successful birth of a ghost bat pup in 15 years.

Born last month, the pup is the first for Taronga's new breeding pair, Celeste and Nocturne.

It is an encouraging sign for the regional breeding program for this vulnerable species.

The last successful birth was a female pup in December 1999.

They are very challenging to breed and a few pups in the past did not survive.

Ghost bats are the world's largest microbat and Australia's only carnivorous bat, preying on large insects, frogs, birds, lizards and small mammals, including other bats.

Their name comes from the beautiful "ghost-like" appearance of their wings in the moonlight.

Despite the challenges of breeding ghost bats, keepers are pleased with the progress of the pup.

Zookeeper Wendy Gleen said it might be a while until keepers can determine its sex, so they have not yet chosen a name.

"The pup has been clinging to its mother for warmth and security, clutching on to her neck with its back legs," she said.

Populations are under threat in the wild due to the loss of feeding habitat and destruction of caves and old mine shafts.

"Ghost bats are particularly vulnerable to mining, which can threaten their maternity caves," Ms Gleen said.

"Ghost bats are difficult to spot in the wild, as they often live in complete darkness and hide in remote caves.

"They've got the most amazing facial structures and use echolocation to find their way in the dark.

"Our modern sonar systems could probably learn a thing or two from these bats' natural talents," she said.

The new pup can be seen at the zoo's Australian Nightlife exhibit.