Florida mammals

Northern Hoary Bat in Florida

Lasiurus cinereus

Native to Florida S2 Imperiled 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.

Hoary bat in flight against blue sky, wings spread to show its yellow throat patch and heavily frosted furHoary bat roosting in a tree bark hollow, frosted fur blending with the surrounding lichenHoary bat hanging from an exposed branch in daylight, showing its full frosted coatHoary bat roosting among grapevine foliage, a typical solitary tree roost
Photo: Gjon Hazard · CC BY 4.0Hoary bat in flight against blue sky, wings spread to show its yellow throat patch and heavily frosted furPhoto: Nelson Balcar · CC BY 4.0Hoary bat roosting in a tree bark hollow, frosted fur blending with the surrounding lichenPhoto: Konshau Duman · CC BY 4.0Hoary bat hanging from an exposed branch in daylight, showing its full frosted coatPhoto: Kalvin Chan · CC BY 4.0Hoary bat roosting among grapevine foliage, a typical solitary tree roost

Northern Hoary Bat in Florida, by the numbers

Rare in Florida 98th most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

26 occurrence records
3 with iNaturalist photos
Feb 3, 2026 Last seen in Florida

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Northern Hoary Bat in Florida

Most sightings fall in October to November.

26 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Florida records (table)
MonthRecords
January2
February6
March0
April0
May0
June0
July0
August1
September1
October10
November6
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Florida, with recorded sightings peaking in October–November, with a smaller rise in February.

Occurrence map

Where Northern Hoary Bat has been recorded in Florida

26 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

26 Florida records mapped

Where it's recorded in Florida

CountyRecords
Leon County 22
Volusia County 1
St. Johns County 1
Orange County 1
Okaloosa County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 5 Florida counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

NatureServe ranks the northern hoary bat S2, imperiled in Florida, and its 26 state records lean heavily on GBIF data, with just 3 logged on iNaturalist. It’s native here, and the most recent Florida record was logged in February 2026.

October holds the clearest peak, with 10 of the state’s records, and secondary bumps appear in February and November with 6 each. Detection is likely tied to when this bat is easiest to find, such as during migration, rather than to a true population high point.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist.

Hoary bat in flight against blue sky, wings spread to show its yellow throat patch and heavily frosted fur
Full species profile Northern Hoary Bat Lasiurus cinereus Size 13–15 cm5.1–5.9 in Weight 26 g0.9 oz Lifespan Up to 14 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:

  • 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