Western Little Brown Myotis in Kentucky

Myotis lucifugus

Native to Kentucky S2 Imperiled in Kentucky

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

IUCN Red List status

EN – Endangered

Very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Photo: Steph Brulot-Sawchyn · CC0Little brown myotis roosting alertly on a wooden beamPhoto: LeeAnn Latremouille · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis roosting in the corner of an attic beamPhoto: Tom Romeo · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis roosting on painted wood sidingPhoto: Patrick Jackson · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis resting among blue spruce branches

Photo: Steph Brulot-Sawchyn · CC0Little brown myotis roosting alertly on a wooden beamPhoto: LeeAnn Latremouille · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis roosting in the corner of an attic beamPhoto: Tom Romeo · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis roosting on painted wood sidingPhoto: Patrick Jackson · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis resting among blue spruce branches

Western Little Brown Myotis in Kentucky, by the numbers

Occasional in Kentucky 49th most recorded of 77 mammals logged in Kentucky

7 occurrence records

7 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Western Little Brown Myotis in Kentucky

Most sightings fall in April.

7 Kentucky 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 Kentucky records (table)

Month	Records
January	0
February	1
March	1
April	2
May	0
June	1
July	0
August	2
September	0
October	0
November	0
December	0

Monthly western little brown myotis occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Kentucky, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in Kentucky; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where Western Little Brown Myotis has been recorded in Kentucky

7 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

7 Kentucky records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Land Between the Lakes Other	1
Daniel Boone National Forest	1

Protected places with the most western little brown myotis 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 Kentucky

County	Records
Edmonson County	2
Trigg County	1
Estill County	1
Kenton County	1
Campbell County	1
Barren County	1

The complete county distribution, spread across 6 Kentucky counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

The western little brown myotis has only 7 Kentucky records since 2000, all of them iNaturalist observations, scattered across six counties with Edmonson, home to Mammoth Cave, the only one to log 2. No month has more than 2, so there’s no seasonal pattern to read.

The bat is native to Kentucky, where NatureServe ranks it S2, Imperiled, and the IUCN lists it as Endangered globally.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Western Little Brown Myotis Myotis lucifugus Size 8–9.5 cm3.1–3.7 in Weight 6–13 g0.2–0.5 oz Lifespan 35 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Kentucky 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"