Florida mammals

Eastern Red Bat in Florida

Lasiurus borealis

Native to Florida SNR Unranked in Florida

Not listed as nonindigenous in Florida by USGS NAS; native to its Florida 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.

Eastern red bat roosting among green leaves, disguised as a dead leafEastern red bat in flight against blue skyEastern red bat roosting on a pine branchEastern red bat hanging under tree leavesEastern red bat tucked among white apple blossoms
Photo: NPS Photo · Public DomainEastern red bat roosting among green leaves, disguised as a dead leafPhoto: Chrissy McClarren and Andy Reago · CC0Eastern red bat in flight against blue skyPhoto: Christina Butler · CC BY 2.0Eastern red bat roosting on a pine branchPhoto: Summit Metro Parks · CC-BYEastern red bat hanging under tree leavesPhoto: Rev. Lee A. Payne, Jr. · CC-BYEastern red bat tucked among white apple blossoms

Eastern Red Bat in Florida, by the numbers

Rare in Florida 80th most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

89 occurrence records
13 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 17, 2026 Last seen in Florida

Records from 2000–2026.

89 total records count every Florida occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 88 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Eastern Red Bat in Florida

Most sightings fall in June to July.

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

Monthly Florida records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February1
March12
April8
May10
June18
July24
August5
September1
October6
November0
December2

Monthly eastern red bat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Florida, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Eastern Red Bat has been recorded in Florida

89 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

89 Florida records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Camp Blanding Military Reservation 1
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge 1
Yellow River Wildlife Management Area - Escribano Point 1

Protected places with the most eastern red 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 Florida

CountyRecords
Alachua County 35
Leon County 16
Escambia County 10
Baker County 5
Santa Rosa County 3
Jefferson County 3
Okaloosa County 2
Duval County 2
Putnam County 2
Wakulla County 2
Gadsden County 2
Clay County 1
5 other counties 6

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

Florida has logged 89 eastern red bat records between 2000 and 2026, mostly through GBIF with only 13 from iNaturalist. The most recent sighting was in June 2026. NatureServe hasn’t given the species a numeric state rank, though it’s confirmed native to Florida.

Records climb sharply from spring into summer, peaking at 24 in July and 18 in June. That rise likely tracks warmer-weather bat activity and more people out looking, not necessarily a real population surge. November didn’t produce a single record.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Eastern red bat roosting among green leaves, disguised as a dead leaf
Full species profile Eastern Red Bat Lasiurus borealis Size 9.3–11.7 cm3.7–4.6 in Weight 7–13 g0.2–0.5 oz Lifespan Up to 2.6 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Florida in the atlas

Data & sources

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