Bat Mania

Pest-eating flyers face an uncertain future.

Did you know that bats are one of the most ecologically and economically important wildlife species worldwide, but also one of the most threatened?

In the United States, almost half of the 47 bat species are listed as endangered, threatened or sensitive at a federal or state level. In Texas, 23 bat species are listed as “species of greatest conservation need” in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Texas Conservation Action Plan.

An article in the latest issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine focuses on partnerships between TPWD and Bat Conservation International to prevent further bat species extinctions and help identify and protect significant bat areas to ensure lasting survival of the world's 1,300-plus bat species.

For more on Texas's four families of bat species, check out the Texas A&M Press book Bats of Texas by experts Loren Ammerman, Christine L. Hice, and David J. Schmidly.