While Austin may be known as Bat City, did you know that San Antonio has its own reputation with this fang-tastic creature?

Just 25 miles north of the Alamo City, you can watch 15 million Mexican Freetail bats soar into the evening sky — making it the world’s largest-known bat colony.

Bracken Cave Preserve

Owned by Bat Conservation International (BCI), Bracken Cave Preserve is located near Natural Bridge Caverns and is open during the summer months, when the bats become migratory.

BCI also works with other Texas organizations to protect the natural resources + wildlife that live here. While the cave is currently closed for the 2024 season, Bat Week starts on Wednesday, Oct. 24 and offers resources like starting a bat club, going for a bat walk, and building bat houses.

The bat colony

What makes Bracken Cave so unique is that this female maternity colony produces millions of pups each year (Picture: 400 per-sqft). You might be thinking “Isn’t Austin the world's largest bat colony?” The answer is it's the largest in an urban setting, giving birth to 750,000 pups per year.

The migratory season begins in March-April for these female bats. At the end of June, they start to give birth, multiplying the population in the cave rapidly. July + August is the perfect time to watch the young bats join their mothers in hunting food and testing their flight skills outside the cave.

How to watch

While viewing at the Bracken Cave Presserve is closed, don't worry, because you can still see these creatures take flight at sunset through October at the Camden St. Bridge. Oh, and it's free to visit too.

Happy viewing everyone.