Endangered bat species detected during survey in Tennessee. Here’s what to know

What This Story Is About

• TWRA’s annual Bat Blitz found several protected or at-risk bat species during a survey in the Fentress County area.

Why It Matters

• Wildlife officials say bat populations have declined in recent years because of threats including white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease and habitat loss. Bats are important to Tennessee’s ecosystem because they help control insect populations and reduce crop damage.

For Context

• The data gathered during the blitz will help inform Tennessee’s State Wildlife Action Plan and guide future conservation and management decisions, according to the TWRA.

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Two federally endangered bat species were detected during the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s 2026 Bat Blitz in and around Fentress County.

The two-night survey in late September brought together about 50 biologists and volunteers to trap, identify and study bats on public and private land.

Despite stormy weather limiting work on the first night, teams captured and examined 316 bats representing nine of Tennessee’s 16 bat species.

Among them were the federally endangered Indiana bat and gray bat.

Biologists also documented the tricolored bat, which is proposed for endangered-species listing, as well as two species identified as having significant conservation needs: the eastern small-footed bat and Rafinesque’s big-eared bat, according to the TWRA.