ASHLAND, Ore. — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Oregon and Washington announced on Thursday, the last day of International Bat Week, that an Oregon bat was crowned the winner of the 2024 Bat Beauty Contest.
Hoary Potter, a male hoary bat, defeated Lestat, the western small-footed bat from Idaho, in the final round of the 2024 Bat Beauty Contest and took home first place.
This victory marks the third year in a row a bat from Oregon has taken first place in the BLM contest.
Emma Busk, BLM wildlife technician, says she hopes the event has inspired more love for these winged creatures of the night.
“I took the photo of Hoary Potter, but all bats are the real winners,” she told the Washington Post.
Each October, the BLM hosts a beauty contest to find the most stunning bat photographed on BLM public lands across the county. The event also coincides with International Bat Week, which raises awareness about bat conservation and the essential role bats play in the natural world.
This year, two Oregon bats participated in the contest: Hoary Potter and Honey Bunches of Myotis, a long-eared myotis bat.
BLM says bats play an essential role in Oregon. All bats in the Pacific Northwest are insectivorous, meaning they rid our world of pests like mosquitos, beetles and moths. Just one bat can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes in an hour!
BLM says people can work to protect bats by avoiding exploring mines and caves where bats may be hibernating this winter and putting up bat houses to provide them with shelter.
“In your own backyard, you can have a bat house!” said Busk. “It’s a shelter that helps protect bats during the winter. You can also make your garden more bat friendly by planting native flowers to attract insects and turning off any unnecessary lights. Light pollution is not great for bats."
