Forget spooky: These bats are competing for the ultimate beauty title this Halloween
It's Bat Week, and to celebrate, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is holding a competition to highlight some of America's bats in a beauty contest.
The competition began with eight bats, all different species named after Hollywood stars, but with a batty twist.
Voting opened on Oct. 24 and the winner of the contest will be announced on Halloween.
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National Bat Week and the contest highlight the importance of bats to the environment, and shed a little light on the good these tiny flying creatures can do, despite their often dark or bad depictions.
Meet the eight contestants in the competitions, and find out which bats are rising to the top of the competition leader board so far:
Batty White, named after the late, great actress Betty White, is a hairy-legged vampire bat.
She's one of only three vampire bat species on Earth, and her preferred meal is bird blood, according to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
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Her fuzzy legs may not just be for appearances, as the BLM said scientists think it may help her sense vibrations and navigate while climbing around in the dark in search of her next meal.
As a species, hairy-legged vampire bats can be found from Mexico and throughout Central and South America, the Bureau of Land Management said.
Getting her name from the red-haired pop icon Chappell Roan, Mexican greater funnel-eared bat Chappell Flown, is another contestant in this year's 2026 bat beauty contest.
This bat is named for its uniquely shaped ears, the Bureau of Land Management said.
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These fiery-colored bats eat insects and can live in colonies of up to 300 bats.
They're widely distributed across the Americas.
ChewBATca is another of this year's beauty contest participants who is named after Chewbacca the Wookie from Star Wars.
ChewBATca is a big brown bat, one of the most common bats in North America, and lives in Canada, all throughout the U.S. and into Central and northern South America, the Bureau of Land Management said.
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This fluffy bat can be found in nearly every habitat you can think of, from forests to cities, farmland, caves and beyond.
One single brown bat can eat more than 1,000 insects in a night, the Bureau of Land Management said.
Count Frostula, is a hoary bat. "Hoary" means grayish-white, which is appropriate for this bat's frosted-looking tips.
Named after Count Dracula, Count Frostula is a solitary bat who likes to roost in trees.
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Hoary bats have a furry tail membrane that looks like a cape, the Bureau of Land Management said.
These bats are another widespread bat species across North America.
Dolly BATton is a Western small-footed bat named after legendary singer Dolly Parton.
A tiny night-flyer, Dolly BATton's species takes to the skies for their next meal, eating insects like moths, flies and beetles.
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Western small-footed bats use echolocation to navigate and search for food as well, the Bureau of Land Management said.
Their tiny feet are a key identification feature of these brown bats.
Guano Reeves is a Townsend's big-ear bat named after multi-talented actor Keanu Reeves.
This North American bat is an evening and night-flyer, emerging after sunset.
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Easily identified by their extremely long ears, these bats use echolocation to find insects for their food.
A trio of bats named after the Three Musketeers, these bats are also Townsend's big-eared bats, like Guano Reeves.
In addition to the facts listed above, Townsend's big-eared bats can be found all over North America, from Canada to Mexico.
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They prefer to use caves and abandoned mines to roost and hibernate in the winter.
"Sadly, their populations have declined in many areas due to habitat disturbance," the Bureau of Land Management said.
The final bat in the competition, but by no means the least popular, is Ryan GosWING, named after actor Ryan Gosling.
Ryan GosWING is a pallid bat, a large, pale-colored furred bat.
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These bats can be found from Western Canada to Mexico, and hunt primarily by sound, using their large ears to guide them.
Pallid bats are talented pollinators, officials said, using a ground-gleaning hunting style.
Pallid bats like Ryan GosWING are often affected by noise pollution.
Ryan GosWING was announced as the first finalist in the competition, with the last few rounds of semifinals underway.
To vote in the competition, learn more and see the winner, visit the 2026 Bat Beauty Contest page on the BLM's website.
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