ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) — A winged creature from Oregon was crowned this year’s winner Thursday in an annual bat beauty contest put on by the Bureau of Land Management.
On Halloween, which was also the last day of International Bat Week, a hoary bat with a feisty personality named “Hoary Potter” defeated “Lestat”, the western small-footed bat from Idaho, in the final round of the contest. It also bested a Townsend’s big-eared bat named "Sir Flaps-A-Lot" from Utah, among others.
The victory marks the third year in a row that a bat from Oregon has taken first place in the contest. Last year, “William ShakespEAR,” a female Townsend’s big-eared bat from southern Oregon took the title. In 2022, a canyon bat named “Barbara” also from southern Oregon was declared the winner.
The federal agency has held the competition since 2019 to raise awareness about the animal’s ecological importance. The bats are part of wild populations living on public lands, and are photographed by agency staff. BLM posted the photos on its Facebook and Instagram accounts, and asked people to vote for the cutest one.
Hoary bats are known for swift flight and wrapping themselves in their own tails to mimic leaves and to hide from predators, the agency said. Because of this attribute, it estimated Hoary Potter would be “the perfect candidate for seeker on this year’s Quidditch team,” referring to the game in Harry Potter that is played on flying brooms.
Emma Busk, the BLM wildlife technician who photographed Hoary Potter, said bats play a key role in the environment by eating insects and pollinating flowers and fruits. But they’re increasingly facing the threats of habitat loss, disease and light pollution, and are often misunderstood as scary disease carriers, she said.
“Less than 1% of all bat populations actually carry rabies, and the bat-to-human disease transmission is actually really low,” she said.
Busk said she hopes the event inspires more love for the only flying mammal.
This undated image provided by the Bureau of Land Management shows the bat Hoary Potter. (Emma Busk/Bureau of Land Management via AP)
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Neelum Valley in northern Pakistan attracts some 300,000 tourists each summer who marvel at its natural beauty. But the threat of war with nearby India has emptied its hotels.
Gunmen last week killed 26 people in the Indian resort town of Pahalgam, fueling tensions between the nuclear-armed nations after India blamed Pakistan for the attack, a charge Pakistan denies.
Neelum Valley is less than 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir, making it vulnerable to any military activity.
Hotel owner Rafaqat Hussain said Thursday the crisis has hit the tourism industry hard. “Most tourists have left and returned to their cities because there is a risk of war."
Authorities in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir temporarily shuttered dozens of tourist resorts following the attack as a precaution.
No such order has come from Pakistani authorities. Bazaars in the Pakistani border town of Chakothi were open for business, although people were concerned.
“First of all, our prayer is for peace, as war always affects civilians first,” shop owner Bashir Mughal told The Associated Press, saying he would fight alongside the army in the event of conflict.
Pakistan used to help residents to build bunkers near their homes during periods of intense cross-border firing. But the population has grown and some homes lack shelters. “Local casualties could be devastating if war breaks out,” Mughal warned.
Saiqa Naseer, also from Chakothi, shuddered at the childhood memories of frequent firing across the border. “Now, as a mother, I find myself facing the same fears,” she said.
She remembered Indian shells striking the picturesque valley when the two countries came close to war in 2019. She has a bunker at her home.
“If war comes, we will stay here. We won’t run away,” she said.
Shop are closed at an empty tourists point in Karen, in the Neelum Valley near on the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir, some 93 kilometres (58 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ishfaq Hussain)
Local residents look at the Indian side of Kashmir from a tourists point in Karen, in the Neelum Valley near on the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir, some 93 kilometres (58 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ishfaq Hussain)
An Indian army post is seen from a hill view tourists point in Karen, in the Neelum Valley near on the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir, some 93 kilometres (58 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ishfaq Hussain)
A motorcyclist drives through an empty market at a tourists point in Karen, in the Neelum Valley near on the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir, some 93 kilometres (58 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ishfaq Hussain)
Local residents look at the Indian side of Kashmir from an empty tourists point in Karen, in the Neelum Valley near on the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir, some 93 kilometres (58 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ishfaq Hussain)
Paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint at Wagah, a joint border crossing point on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, May 1, 2025.(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Local residents take picture with their mobile phones of Indian side Kashmir, at a view point from Pakistan side on the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Pakistan and Indian Kashmir, in Chilhana, some 45 kilometres (27 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/M.D. Mughal)
Local residents walk through the main bazaar of Chakothi, near Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Pakistan and Indian Kashmir, some 61 kilometers (38 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Roshan Mughal)
Paramilitary soldiers frisk a car at a checkpoint at Wagah, a joint border crossing point on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, May 1, 2025.(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Vehicles pass through a checkpoint at Wagah, a joint border crossing point on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, May 1, 2025.(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A local resident takes pictures with his mobile phone of Indian side Kashmir, at a view point from Pakistan side on the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Pakistan and Indian Kashmir, in Chilhana, some 45 kilometres (27 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/M.D. Mughal)
A village of Indian side Kashmir, is seen from the Pakistan side on the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Pakistan and Indian Kashmir, in Chilhana, some 45 kilometres (27 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/M.D. Mughal)
Local residents unload pipes from a vehicle at the main bazaar of Chakothi, near Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Pakistan and Indian Kashmir, some 61 kilometres (38 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Roshan Mughal)
Local residents walk on a highway near on the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Pakistan and Indian Kashmir, in Chilhana, some 45 kilometres (27 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/M.D. Mughal)
