CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago may be known for Bulls, Bears and Cubbies, but the city has decided its official mammal is a tiny critter that’s tough to see much less root for.
In a news release, Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo says the city is naming the little brown bat as the city’s “Official Mammal for 2018.
The bat was chosen in conjunction with the zoo’s 150th birthday as a way to highlight work being done by the zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute. As part of its work examining the interaction between urban areas and the natural ecosystem, the institute is studying the Chicago-area bat that’s threatened by a fatal fungal condition.
The zoo is working with the Chicago Public Library to engage children and families in programming about the bats and other urban wildlife.
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