Last week Kevin and I visited Bracken Cave for the first time during one of @batconservationinternational member nights. The cave is only about about 4 or 5 miles from where Kevin grew up, but this was also his first time there to watch the emergence. The cave is home to the largest bat colony in the world, with roughly 15-20 million Mexican free-tailed bats. While there are endless cool facts about these bats (Texas even designated them as the State Flying Mammal in 1995) one of the most interesting to me is the cave is home to only females who migrate here from Mexico to birth and raise their pups during the summer. When the babies are born (each bat has only one) they roost in the cave with as many as 400 pups per square foot. After going out to feed at night, the moms are able to return and find their one pup by their scent and the sound of their voice. Less than half of the bat babies survive their first year, but if they do, they can live up to 18 years. Highly suggest visiting if you have the chance!