Bracken Bat Cave

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Join Us in Realizing Our Dream...a Priceless Resource that will teach the world about bats.

It is an old story. For over 10,000 years, the bats have come to Bracken Cave every Spring. Probably beginning as soon as the last Ice Age receded northward, allowing the sun to warm up the coastal bend of a place we now call Texas. The bats bred. Raised their young. Hung themselves in tightly packed clusters from the cave ceiling. And at twilight, they flowed on whirring wings into the night sky. Millions of them. Until a trickle turned into a winding, twisting river of Mexican free-tailed bats, ready to feast on the protein-rich, airborne insects migrating over the limestone hills.

And so it came to be that in this very special place, the largest concentration of mammals on our planet gathered. Just twenty miles from San Antonio. The country's ninth largest metropolitan area and steadily growing. Alongside millions of bats. The story is far from over. But we need your help to ensure its future.

In a near miracle of success Bat Conservation International has acquired 697 acres of land including and surrounding Bracken Cave, home to the largest community of mammals in the world. Without our intervention, this property would have been lost to housing developments within a few years.

This colony, in the ongoing face of adversity and age-old myths, is a priceless resource. Its evening emergences are awe-inspiring. First, a few bold bats fly up from the cave's dark entrance. The trickle becomes a flood as more high-speed flyers corkscrew upwards. The vortex of bats looks almost like a single organism as it gains speed on its way upward. Countless wings spread a whispered flutter and the hint of a breeze over the landscape.

By dawn, Bracken's colony alone will have consumed some 200 tons of flying insects, many of them pests that wreak millions of dollars in damage on the region's corn and cotton crops.

Witnessing an evening emergence of the Bracken bat colony is an unforgettable experience. Nothing compares for demonstrating the magic of bats. But protecting so precious a resource must always be our first priority. Until the visitors' center and other facilities are in place, Bracken Cave must remain open only on select nights and almost exclusively for BCI members. But the Bracken Bat Cave and Nature Reserve will one day open this wildlife wonder to people from around the world - without endangering the bats or their Hill Country habitat. And the cause of bat conservation will take a huge leap forward. But first comes the land.

Many centuries ago, the great bat colony of Bracken Cave soared over a rolling landscape of waist-high prairie grasses and open savannahs studded with ancient oaks and dappled with red-berried agarita and twisted persimmon. Wildflowers splashed springtime colors, and a dazzling array of wildlife walked, hopped, slithered and flew across the Hill Country of Central Texas. Unfortunately it did not remain this way. Brush fires, which had kept the plants in balance when sparked by lightning or native peoples, were suppressed. The grasslands shrank, and thirsty Ashe junipers (called "cedars" by the locals) emerged from their rocky enclaves along ravines and hillsides. Now Bat Conservation International, slowly and carefully, is putting the Hill Country back as close as possible to the way it was. The first step in making Bracken one of the world's great nature experiences is to carefully restore the land. Once we have restored the land, we will begin work on the heart of the Bracken Bat Cave and Nature Reserve, an interpretive center so advanced and dramatic that it will set new standards for such facilities.

We're at last moving forward to realize our Bracken dream, however we still have a very long way to go. That's why were offering an opportunity to leave a personal legacy of conservation as Charter Land Stewards of the Bracken Bat Cave and Nature Reserve. Consider adopting an acre in honor of your family, company or as a gift to a loved one. Better yet, invest in several acres or contact us for information on other unique naming opportunities.

We will always have time for our Charter Land Stewards, those who heard our call early and joined in our quest to make the world not only a safer place for bats, but also a far better planet for all of us to call home.We invite you to join us in realizing our dream for Bracken Bat Cave and Nature Reserve.