May 9, 2022 — Bat Conservation International (BCI) and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) are joining forces Monday, May 9th for a Facebook Live event featuring the bats at Bracken Cave. BCI will host the event and TPWD will provide a simulcast. The public can tune in live beginning 8:20 p.m. Central time on the BCI and TPWD Facebook pages.
Biologists will answer questions live from the audience and talk about the bats during their nightly emergence from Bracken Cave. The nightly emergence is a highlight for visitors and a bucket list item for many nature enthusiasts worldwide. In addition, biologists will discuss the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) and how it will benefit species of greatest conservation need, like Texas bats.
The event is in recognition of RAWA, which is currently racing through Congress with unprecedented bipartisan support. RAWA could bring $50 million to Texas to help save wildlife, restore land like Bracken Cave and give Texans more ways to enjoy the outdoors.
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is strongly supported by the Texas Alliance for America’s Fish and Wildlife, a statewide coalition of more than 165 diverse organizations and businesses, the National Wildlife Federation, The Wildlife Society, and the American Fisheries Society. The public is encouraged to contact their U.S. senators and representatives to vote “yes” for this important legislation.
BCI, along with The Nature Conservancy, co-manages 3,462 contiguous acres of rugged Texas Hill Country called the Bracken Cave Preserve. Located less than 20 miles from downtown San Antonio, Texas, Bracken Cave Preserve is the largest bat colony in the world — home to more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis). BCI is committed to catalyzing the experience of Bracken bat flights to teach the public about the ecological and economic value of bats — sustainably increasing access for visitors and protecting a magnificent colony of Mexican free-tailed bats.
