South Carolina mammals

Big Brown Bat in South Carolina

Eptesicus fuscus

Native to South Carolina S4 Apparently Secure in South Carolina

Not listed as nonindigenous in South Carolina by USGS NAS; native to its South Carolina range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus)Big brown bat flying in daylight with wings spreadBig brown bat flying at night with wings spreadBig brown bat roosting on lichen-covered tree barkBig brown bat roosting on a wooden structure
Photo: Connor Long · CC BY-SA 4.0Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus)Photo: rhododendrites · CC-BY-SABig brown bat flying in daylight with wings spreadPhoto: Dan Riskin · CC-BYBig brown bat flying at night with wings spreadPhoto: Rita Clare · CC0Big brown bat roosting on lichen-covered tree barkPhoto: Bonnie Isaac · CC0Big brown bat roosting on a wooden structure

Big Brown Bat in South Carolina, by the numbers

Common in South Carolina 33rd most recorded of 108 mammals logged in South Carolina

44 occurrence records
44 with iNaturalist photos
Apr 29, 2026 Last seen in South Carolina

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Big Brown Bat in South Carolina

Most sightings fall in May to July.

44 South Carolina occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly South Carolina records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February0
March3
April4
May9
June10
July9
August5
September2
October0
November1
December0

Monthly big brown bat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in South Carolina, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in South Carolina, with recorded sightings peaking in May–July.

Occurrence map

Where Big Brown Bat has been recorded in South Carolina

44 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

44 South Carolina records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Musgrove Mill State Historic Site 15
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve / Wildlife Management Area 2
Sumter National Forest 1

Protected places with the most big brown bat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in South Carolina

CountyRecords
Laurens County 16
Pickens County 5
Greenville County 3
Anderson County 3
Richland County 2
Abbeville County 2
Lexington County 2
Beaufort County 2
Lancaster County 1
Lee County 1
Oconee County 1
Chester County 1
5 other counties 5

The complete county distribution, spread across 17 South Carolina counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Big brown bats carry a NatureServe S4 apparently secure rank in South Carolina, and the record leans toward iNaturalist (44 of 44 records), suggesting casual sightings, not survey work, document most of what’s known about this building-roosting bat in the state.

June is the year’s peak at 10 sightings, with May and July close behind at 9 each, and those three months hold nearly two-thirds of the total, tracking the maternity-colony season when this species is most active; records nearly vanish by October, consistent with the bat becoming harder to detect heading into winter.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus)
Full species profile Big Brown Bat Eptesicus fuscus Size 7.5 cm3 in Weight 17 g0.6 oz Lifespan 19 yr View the full profile

More mammals in South Carolina in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"