Texas mammals

Big Brown Bat in Texas

Eptesicus fuscus

Native to Texas S5 Secure in Texas

Not listed as nonindigenous in Texas by USGS NAS; native to its Texas 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 Bat in Texas, by the numbers

Occasional in Texas 76th most recorded of 197 mammals logged in Texas

324 occurrence records
123 with iNaturalist photos
Apr 27, 2026 Last seen in Texas

Records from 2000–2026.

324 total records count every Texas occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 318 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Big Brown Bat in Texas

Most sightings fall in June to July.

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

Monthly Texas records (table)
MonthRecords
January18
February12
March16
April18
May18
June73
July63
August34
September17
October18
November17
December14

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Texas, with recorded sightings peaking in June–July.

Occurrence map

Where Big Brown Bat has been recorded in Texas

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Texas records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Big Bend National Park 5
Palo Duro Canyon State Park 2
Guadalupe Mountains National Park 2
Tyler State Park 1
Black Gap Wildlife Management Area 1
Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site 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 Texas

CountyRecords
El Paso County 49
Williamson County 35
Randall County 31
Presidio County 27
Brewster County 20
Crosby County 19
Upshur County 13
Hutchinson County 7
Travis County 7
Tarrant County 6
Potter County 6
Tyler County 6
56 other counties 98

The complete county distribution, spread across 68 Texas counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Big brown bat records in Texas concentrate in the Panhandle, around Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Caprock Canyons State Park, and Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, canyon country that offers both natural rock roosts and the barns, bridges, and buildings this adaptable bat readily accepts as substitutes. It’s one of the most flexible roosters among North American bats, equally at home in a tree hollow or an attic.

Texas reports peak sharply in July and August, when maternity colonies are most active and warm nights bring both bats and observers outdoors, a detection pattern rather than proof the population swells in midsummer. With 324 records, the species sits in the occasional tier among Texas mammals, and NatureServe lists it secure (S5) statewide, matching its status as one of the more common, adaptable bats across the country. Its stout body and short rounded ears set it apart from paler, larger-eared Trans-Pecos bats like the pallid bat.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

More mammals in Texas 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"