South Carolina mammals

Mexican Free-tailed Bat in South Carolina

Tadarida brasiliensis

Native to South Carolina S5 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.

Tadarida brasiliensis - Bahamas - Long Island (sic) - Cartwright Cave - March 2006 - 2A dense column of Mexican free-tailed bats streaming from beneath a highway bridge at duskMexican free-tailed bats pouring into the evening sky as onlookers watch below
Photo: Matti Mero · Public domainTadarida brasiliensis - Bahamas - Long Island (sic) - Cartwright Cave - March 2006 - 2Photo: James Todd McCann · CC BY 4.0A dense column of Mexican free-tailed bats streaming from beneath a highway bridge at duskPhoto: Theo Summer · CC0Mexican free-tailed bats pouring into the evening sky as onlookers watch below

Mexican Free-tailed Bat in South Carolina, by the numbers

Common in South Carolina 32nd most recorded of 108 mammals logged in South Carolina

149 occurrence records
57 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 9, 2026 Last seen in South Carolina

Records from 2000–2026.

149 total records count every South Carolina occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 103 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Mexican Free-tailed Bat in South Carolina

Most sightings fall in January.

103 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
January28
February3
March11
April11
May10
June5
July10
August7
September1
October7
November2
December8

Monthly mexican free-tailed bat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in South Carolina, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in South Carolina, with recorded sightings peaking in January.

Occurrence map

Where Mexican Free-tailed Bat has been recorded in South Carolina

149 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

149 South Carolina records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Poinsett State Park 4
Edisto Beach State Park 2
Musgrove Mill State Historic Site 1
Sumter National Forest 1

Protected places with the most mexican free-tailed 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
Anderson County 72
Charleston County 22
Pickens County 10
Richland County 8
Colleton County 5
Greenville County 4
Abbeville County 4
Sumter County 4
Beaufort County 3
Horry County 3
Chesterfield County 3
Union County 2
8 other counties 9

The complete county distribution, spread across 20 South Carolina counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Mexican free-tailed bats are fast, high-flying foragers often associated with buildings and other large roost structures. South Carolina records lean toward the Lowcountry, including the ACE Basin, Cape Romain, and Hunting Island, but many detections depend on acoustic surveys and should not be read as exact roost locations.

The limited record has clusters in March–April, July, and October rather than one smooth peak. Seasonal movement and uneven detector effort can both shape that pattern, so individual monthly counts warrant caution.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Tadarida brasiliensis - Bahamas - Long Island (sic) - Cartwright Cave - March 2006 - 2
Full species profile Mexican Free-tailed Bat Tadarida brasiliensis Size 3.1–4.1 cm1.2–1.6 in Weight 7–12 g0.2–0.4 oz Lifespan 8 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"