It’s Time to Vote for the Most Beautiful Bat

You’ve likely heard of beauty pageants featuring gorgeous cats and dogs, but there are also events for animals we usually wouldn’t consider eye-catching. The British Tarantula Society hosts an exhibition contest, and there’s also the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival. Bats are currently in the midst of their own beauty competition, and you can vote for the most gorgeous of them all.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has hosted the Bat Beauty Contest for the last two years, and Oregon bats have reigned supreme in both of the past competitions. The Beaver State hopes to bring home the win again in 2024 with its two contestants: Hoary Potter and Honey Bunches of Myotis. The former contender, a male hoary bat, will debut in the first round on October 24, 2024; the latter is a long-eared myotis bat who will join the competition on Friday. 

The Statesman Journal reports that bats from four other states will compete as well. But the contestants—and the participating states they’ll represent—have not been revealed yet. Jeanne Panfely, the social media lead for the Oregon/Washington BLM, told the Statesman Journal that the competition is in bracket form, meaning two competitors will face off at a time, with the winner of a given round advancing to the next stage. New competitors will be introduced daily during each bracket.

The event occurs during Bat Week, which brings awareness of the species’ environmental impact. Many people don’t know about the importance of protecting these animals—and many bat species are unfortunately declining. Bats help control the insect population, which protects plants from damage. The nocturnal animals also pollinate plants we need for food and disperse seeds via their waste.  

If you’d like to participate in the voting process, simply go to the BLM’s Facebook or Instagram page to vote for your favorite bat. The event starts on October 24 and ends on Halloween. May the best bat win.

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