AnimalTourism.com has compiled a list of the best bat-viewing sites around the country. We show you the reason for the ranking: we prefer big bat numbers, close to where people live or exotic bat species. The top 10 has at least one from each region.
Bat-viewing got its start in Austin. The city, along with Bat Conservation International, transformed seeing bats at night from a nuisance to a major tourist attraction. Austin accidentally built itself a model bat house in the Congress Avenue Bridge and BCI stepped in to show us all how to enjoy the show. Instead of having to tear down a major bridge, Austin celebrates its bats. Mayor Lee Effingel just announced that Austin will now have an annual Night of the Bat celebration in June and he wants the bat to be the city’s official animal. Adam West will appear, they’re be a screening of a batman movie and BCI will have a live bat show. The great thing about Austin is, you don’t even have to go out of your way to see bats; after dusk they’re all over.
Texas is definitely bat central, but plenty of places around the country have great bat fly-outs. State and federal parks get in on the action with summertime dusk bat events. White-nosed syndrome has wiped out about a million bats nationwide, according to BCI. The caves in the northeast are hit especially hard, with 90% of the bats in Hibernia, NJ, wiped out, according to NJ.com. But there are still lots of bat attractions in every region of the country.
See the Full Listing of Bat-Viewing Sites Around the Country
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