Every summer night, hundreds of people gather to see the world's largest urban bat colony emerge from under the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin, Texas. These 1.5 million bats are fun to watch, but they're also making our world a better place to live.

The history of Bat Conservation International is integrally linked with that of Congress Avenue Bridge. When engineers reconstructed the Congress Avenue Bridge in 1980 they had no idea that new crevices beneath the bridge would make an ideal bat roost. By 1984, hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats had moved into the bridge. Reacting in misguided fear many people petitioned to have the bat colony eradicated.

In 1986, BCI's founder Merlin Tuttle brought the organization to Austin and began a vigorous public education campaign to save the bat colony. After meeting with media, community groups, schoolchildren and city leaders, BCI gradually convinced Austinites that they have little to fear and much to gain from the bridge bats. Now they have become a delight for tourists that attract millions of dollars for the local economy.

BCI continues its work to educate locals and tourists alike about the benefits of bats both in Austin and around the world. To learn more about our bat conservation work visit batcon.org