BLM asks for votes in bat beauty contest
By Terry Murry on Thursday, October 24th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
OREGON – Two bats from Oregon are entered into the Bureau of Land Management’s Bat Beauty Contest. If one of them wins, it will be the third year in a row for Oregon bats to take the competition.
The bats are all photographed on BLM public lands across the country. The voting begins today (Thursday) and ends on Halloween. It coincides with International Bat Week which raises awareness of the essential role bats play in the natural world.
Hoary Potter, a male hoary bat with what BLM describes as having a feisty personality, competes in the first round of the competition today. On Friday, Honey Bunches of Myotis, a long-eared myotis bat, will compete. Their photographs were taken by Emma Busk, a wildlife technician for the bureau.
“It’s important that we fact check what we think we know about bats,” Busk said. “There are a lot of myths around bats, but they’re amazing wildlife and they contribute so much to our ecosystem.”
Bats play an essential role in the Pacific Northwest. They are insectivorous. Just one bat can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes in an hour. People can vote for Oregon’s bats on the BLM National Facebook page or the BLM National Instagram page.
Photo montage (left to right): Honey Bunches of Myotis and Hoary Potter.
