A Beauty Contest Was Held In The USA bats (7 photos)

The annual bat beauty contest was held in the United States. Here's what the winner and several other participants look like.





Hoarse Potter

The contest has been held by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for five years now. It is held at the end of October, during International Bat Week, and the winner is often announced on Halloween. Photos of the participants are published on the agency's social networks, and users choose the most beautiful one. This year, the winner was a hairy-tailed bat with a quarrelsome character named Hoarse Potter from Oregon. In the final, he beat his main rival, a bat from Idaho named Lestat.



Lestat

Also close to victory were a Townsend's long-eared bat named Sir Flaps-A-Lot from Utah, a short-eared bat named Bat Damon, and a greater bat named Robert Battinson.





This is the third year in a row that Oregon participants have won the competition. Last year, the title went to William Shakespeare, a Townsend's long-eared bat from southern Oregon.



The 2022 winner was a canyon bat named Barbara, also from southern Oregon.

The federal agency is holding the contest to educate people about the importance of bats to the environment. They play a key role in ecosystems by feeding on insects and pollinating flowers and fruits.



Beth Dimon

However, they are increasingly facing threats from habitat loss, disease, and light pollution. They are also often considered carriers of disease. Less than one percent of all bats carry rabies.