ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Wildlife managers in the American Southwest say a once-rare bat important to the pollination of plants used to produce tequila has made a comeback and is being removed from the federal endangered species list. Binational Bats

For the last three decades, however, the U.S. and Mexico have cooperated to bring the lesser long-nosed bat back from the brink. WASHINGTON (CN) — With bats — important pollinators and insect pest controllers — under siege from white-nose syndrome, the Chiroptera animal order got some rare good news Tuesday, when the Fish and Wildlife Service said the lesser long-nosed bat has recovered sufficiently to be removed from the endangered species list. In the spring, they migrate north to northern Mexico and southern Arizona, giving birth in many-female “maternity caves.”

Fly Up Close to a Long-Nosed Bat in Hypnotic Slow-Mo

The bats colonize a string of caves and abandoned mines along an agave-rich “nectar trail” from southern Mexico to Arizona.
The lesser long-nosed bat, once on the brink of extinction, is removed from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered mammals and birds. It is the first U.S. bat species to officially recover from the imminent threat of extinction.