Oregon’s ‘Hoary Potter’ casts spell on voters, wins historic bat beauty crown

Published 2:26 pm Thursday, October 31, 2024

All hail the bat who lived (won).

Hoary Potter, a hoary bat from Oregon who was one of two state reps vying for a historic achievement, won his final duel.

On Halloween, the last day of International Bat Week, he bested Lestat, a western small-footed bat from Idaho, in the final round of the 2024 Bat Beauty Contest, held annually by the Bureau of Land Management.

The magical victory marks the third year in a row a bat from Oregon has taken first place in the contest, leaving the state going “batty” on the spookiest night of the year.

“I took the photo of Hoary Potter, but all bats are the real winners,” said Emma Busk, BLM wildlife technician.

Hoary Potter cast a spell on voters, celebrated for his feisty personality. He joins a line of Oregon royalty, following in the paw-steps of the previous two winners: 2023’s champ William ShakespEAR, a female Townsend’s big-eared bat from Butte Falls; and Barbara, a canyon bat from Lake County, got the 2022 crown.

The other Oregon bat in this year’s contest was the lovely Honey Bunches of Myotis, a long-eared myotis bat.

“It’s important that we fact check what we think we know about bats,” Busk said. “There are a lot of myths around bats, but they’re amazing wildlife and they contribute so much to our ecosystem.”

The Bureau of Land Management stewards more than 245 million acres of public land, located primarily in the 11 western states and Alaska.

All the bats that live in the Pacific Northwest are insectivorous, which means they love to munch on pests like mosquitos, beetles and moths. Just one bat can eat more than 1,200 blood-sucking mosquitoes in an hour, making our local varieties more akin to Dr. Van Helsing than Dracula, or perhaps the insect-loving Renfield.

There are ways you can support the local bat populations. During winter, avoid exploring mines and caves where bats may be hibernating. You can also build a bat house in your backyard.

“It’s a shelter that helps protect bats during the winter,” Busk said. “You can also make your garden more bat friendly by planting native flowers to attract insects and turning off any unnecessary lights (since) light pollution is not great for bats.”