Does your state have an official bat?
08.26.26
By Paul Hormick
In the U.S., every state of the Union embraces their emblems. There are official state trees (the southern magnolia for Mississippi, the sugar maple for New York), State flowers (the California poppy for California, the forget-me-not for Alaska), and even food emblems, (for Delaware it’s the summery peach pie for West Virginia it’s the savory pepperoni roll). And yes, a handful of states, plus the District of Columbia, have been enlightened enough to adopt official bats. Here’s the run down.
Texas
When folks think of Texas, longhorns and armadillos come to mind. So, it was a no-brainer when, in 1995, the Texas state legislature honored the imported cattle as the state’s official large mammal and the armor-plated mammal, whose name translates from Spanish as “little armored one,” as the state’s official small mammal. That same year, the legislature chose to honor the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) as Texas’ flying mammal and thus became the first state in the Union to adopt an official state bat.
Texas has LOTS of bats, with 32 of the 47 bat species in the United States making their home in the Lone Star State. But it is the Mexican free-tailed bat that Texans and tourists love the most. In summer, folks gather at sites close to caves — the largest and most famous is Bracken Cave Preserve near San Antonio — sinkholes, tunnels, and bridges — arguably the most stunning is the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin — to witness millions of these bats taking to the Texas sky at dusk.
Virginia
When it came time to adopt an official bat, the Virginia legislature could have named the eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis), the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), or a handful of other bats commonly observed in the state. But there must be something in a name, because the Virginia General Assembly adopted the Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus), a subspecies of the Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii), as their state symbol, even though this particular bat is only found in a few counties in the eastern part of the state. The Virginia Cave Board, a segment of the Virginia Conservation and Recreation Department, promoted the bat as a state emblem as a means of educating the public about Virginia’s caves and the wildlife to be found in them.
Oklahoma
Promoting tourism was an objective of Oklahoma lawmakers when, in 2006, they designated the Mexican free-tailed bat as the state’s official flying mammal. They had in mind the Selman Bat Cave near Oklahoma’s Alabaster Caverns State Park, one of four maternity caves for the Mexican free-tailed bat in Oklahoma. The bat shares the honor of state mammal for the Sooner state with the American bison, which gained this honor in 1972, and the white-tailed deer, which joined the roster in 1990.
Oklahoma’s Wildlife Department bought the Selman Bat Cave and 340 acres of surrounding land in 1995. The area also serves as a conservation site for porcupines, Texas horned lizards, great-crested flycatchers, and other wildlife.
Washington, D.C.
When it comes to salesmanship, nobody bests Girl Scouts. Try to find somebody who markets cookies better than these green-uniformed sugar peddlers. So, it was probably a foregone conclusion that the District of Columbia would have an official bat when three Girl Scout troops used their persuasive powers to lobby D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen for the adoption of the little brown bat as D.C.’s state symbol. The scouts wanted to encourage the protection of the bat and bats in general. Eastern states around D.C. were among the first to be hit by white-nose syndrome, which has caused bat populations to plummet.
The Girl Scouts lobbied for the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), but this species had not been seen in the district for a number of years. The council thus established the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) as the official state mammal for our nation’s capital. The legislative body noted the big brown bat is found throughout the United States and that it is swift, able to reach speeds up to 40 miles per hour.
California
“I think having a state bat will get people more excited about bats,” 12-year-old Naomi D’Alessio testified before the California State Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee hearing in August of 2023. “That might make them want to learn more, and hopefully want to protect them.”
Naming the pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) as the Golden State’s official bat became a goal for the middle-schooler after she recorded bat calls in her backyard and she and her father had taken a California bat natural history class together. The bat was officially recognized by California in October of 2023. As we saw in the case of D.C., having children lobby for bats can be very effective, but lobbying to add the pallid bat the roster of roughly 36 official California emblems had started six years before by David S. Johnson, adjunct professor at San José State University and board member of the North American Society for Bat Research.
Four states plus the District of Columbia have designated official bats. In doing so they have recognized the service these creatures perform by consuming agricultural pests. Having bats as state emblems also encourages folks to learn about bats — how they are important pollinators and seed dispersers—and how people can protect bats species.
So how about the rest of the Union? What about you, Montana? There are the silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), the western small-footed myotis (Myotis ciliolabrum), and 11 other species that live in your borders that you could honor. Florida, you have 14 species of bats; but choosing the Endangered Florida bonneted bat (Eumops Floridanus) seems like a no-brainer. Hawaii, for you it’s easy-peasy. You have one bat species: the Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus semotus). Might as well make it official. The more state bats, the better the state of the Union.
Paul Hormick, author of the environmental newsletter The Green Dispatch, a frequent contributor to “The Bat Pub,” and has spent the last 22 years writing about music, food, and the environment.
