The bat, a cave myotis, is most commonly found in Mexico or the southwest region of the United States

NEED TO KNOW

• A rare cave myotis bat was discovered in an Omaha office building, hundreds of miles away from its typical habitat
• This bat sighting marks Nebraska’s first recorded cave myotis — though experts suspect the animal had some help getting to the state
• “Halloween came early!” said Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, which helped move the bat to a safe place

It was just another day at an Omaha office building when people clocking in noticed a little animal on the floor. On closer inspection, per Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, workers realized it was a bat. Even more bizarre, it was a species not yet recorded in Nebraska.

In a pair of photos shared on the organization’s Instagram, the little black bat — a cave myotis — appears inside a small, white ramekin.

“Halloween came early to the Wildlife Center with the arrival of yet another bat species never before documented in Nebraska!” the caption for the shots reads.

The cave myotis generally weighs from one-quarter ounce to one-half ounce and measures roughly 2.25 inches on average, according to the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat). Eastern cave myotis tend to have pale brown fur, while their western counterparts are a deeper shade of brown.

The bat is most commonly found throughout much of Mexico and in the southwest United States, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, per NABat.

Finding one in Nebraska is especially rare and unexpected, Nebraska Wildlife Rehab said on Facebook.

“So how did a cave myotis end up in an Omaha office building, hundreds of miles outside her normal range? Although we’ll never know for certain, we do have a pretty good theory: she may have been an accidental stowaway,” the post read.

Cave myotis generally roost in dark environments, like caves, mines, tunnels, and buildings, per NABat. It’s possible the bat saw a potential roosting spot in a shipping truck or piece of freight, coming from a more common area for cave myotis.

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“It’s not unheard of for wildlife to hitch an unintended ride in transported goods,” the post read, “and her unusual location and circumstances make an accidental journey a plausible explanation.”

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