He’s fast, feisty and could play Quidditch. Meet the bat that won a beauty contest – KSAT San Antonio
Associated Press
Published:
Associated Press
ASHLAND, Ore. – A winged creature from Oregon was crowned this year’s winner Thursday in an annual bat beauty contest put on by the Bureau of Land Management.
On Halloween, which was also the last day of International Bat Week, a hoary bat with a feisty personality named “Hoary Potter” defeated “Lestat”, the western small-footed bat from Idaho, in the final round of the contest. It also bested a Townsend’s big-eared bat named “Sir Flaps-A-Lot” from Utah, among others.
Recommended Videos
The victory marks the third year in a row that a bat from Oregon has taken first place in the contest. Last year, “William ShakespEAR,” a female Townsend’s big-eared bat from southern Oregon took the title. In 2022, a canyon bat named “Barbara” also from southern Oregon was declared the winner.
The federal agency has held the competition since 2019 to raise awareness about the animal’s ecological importance. The bats are part of wild populations living on public lands, and are photographed by agency staff. BLM posted the photos on its Facebook and Instagram accounts, and asked people to vote for the cutest one.
Hoary bats are known for swift flight and wrapping themselves in their own tails to mimic leaves and to hide from predators, the agency said. Because of this attribute, it estimated Hoary Potter would be “the perfect candidate for seeker on this year’s Quidditch team,” referring to the game in Harry Potter that is played on flying brooms.
Emma Busk, the BLM wildlife technician who photographed Hoary Potter, said bats play a key role in the environment by eating insects and pollinating flowers and fruits. But they’re increasingly facing the threats of habitat loss, disease and light pollution, and are often misunderstood as scary disease carriers, she said.
“Less than 1% of all bat populations actually carry rabies, and the bat-to-human disease transmission is actually really low,” she said.
Busk said she hopes the event inspires more love for the only flying mammal.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Recommended Videos
Email Newsletters
KSAT RSS Feeds
Contests and Rules
Contact Us
KSAT Internships
Careers at KSAT
Closed Captioning / Audio Description
Public File
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Do Not Sell My Info
FCC Applications
If you need help with the Public File, call (210) 351-1200.
At KSAT, we are committed to informing and delighting our audience. In our commitment to covering our communities with innovation and excellence, we incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance our news gathering, reporting, and presentation processes. Read our article to see how we are using Artificial Intelligence.
Copyright © 2024 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings.
