Meet the pallid bat, California’s newest state symbol. Here’s what makes it so special

California is well-known for its iconic golden poppies and towering redwoods, but the Golden State may soon be known by a new symbol: the pallid bat.

Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month signed Senate Bill 732, making antrozous pallidus the official state bat, the newest of California’s 40-plus official symbols. The legislation, authored by State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-Los Angeles, sought a special designation for the species of bat because of the natural pest control it provides to the state’s agriculture.

“Naming Antrozous pallidus as the official state bat of California will help promote appreciation, study, and protection of bats in this state,” Menjivar wrote in the bill.

Pallid bats also have unique characteristics such as immunity to scorpion venom and an omnivore diet, said a 12-year-old nature advocate and co-author of the bill, Naomi D’Allessio, in a state Assembly hearing in June.

This species of bats is as “diverse as Californians,” the law says, living in the state’s deserts, coastal forests and even at high elevations in the Sierra Nevada.

“Bats can live up to 40 years and typically raise just one pup a year,” Menjivar wrote in the legislation. “This low birth rate makes their populations particularly vulnerable to disruptions like humans encroaching on their habitat and climate change.”

The species, which has been in existence since the late Pleistocene era (at least 12,000 years), is considered by naturists and regulators as of “least concern,” meaning they are not classified under federal or state law as threatened like California condors, Delta smelt or the California tiger salamander.

The pallid bat has forward-pointing ears, a pig-like snout and pale golden and brown fur. It can be found across much of western North America, according to NorCal Bats. It can grow to be 2¾ to 5 inches in length and have a wingspan of about 15 inches.

“They are a very cool bat,” said Corky Quirk, founder of NorCal Bats. “For the most part, they are eating invertebrates such as potato bugs, large beetles like cockroaches, scorpions and centipedes. They see well and live in social groups, and chitchat a lot with each other.”

Quirk said they usually live in small roosts and are difficult to find in the wild. They have been known to show up in the entryways of stucco homes on occasion, she said.

“Other than being messy, they’re a great bat to have around,” she added.

The pallid bat will be added to the California State Library’s list of the state’s official symbols in 2024, joining the California gray whale and extinct California grizzly bear.