Did you know you have bats to thank for a large amount of the tequila you’ve been consuming? I’m not kidding, it’s true. This unlikely friendship between bats and the agave plant (which is what tequila comes from) has been responsible for us receiving the smooth, luxurious liquor that’s popular all around the world.
Bats play a humongous role in the spread of the agave plant! They’re known to stick their heads deep into the agave plant to get to its nectar (can you blame them?) and come out covered in pollen. They then go on to pollinate the surrounding agave plants, and that’s how we get the plethora of plants that are then harvested, roasted and made into tequila.
Agave hasn’t helped bats in the same capacity, unfortunately. Due to the increasing demand for tequila, agave stalks are cut before they have the chance to reproduce, which means the bats can’t get to the good stuff – pollen. Commercial production of agave has also lead to the use of cloned agave, again depriving bats of their usual feast and their usual habitat. Cloned agave rots pretty quickly, while natural bat-pollinated agave is genetically diverse and doesn’t get infected by fungus as quickly. Despite the many advantages, two of the species of bats that feed on agave – the Mexican long-nosed bat and the lesser long-nosed bat – made the endangered species list due to the industrial agave farming. The third, the Mexican long-tongued bat is a species of concern according to the U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service.
But there is some good news, our friend – the lesser long-nosed bat – was recently taken off the endangered list! We can thank a 30-year-long conservation effort from biologists, volunteers, farmers and tequila producers for this rare and monumental achievement. In their bid to save these bats, some people have even started marketing ‘bat-friendly’ tequila and what better than to save an entire species, just through drinking responsibly.
So the next time you take a shot of your favourite tequila, don’t forget to pay homage to the bats that made it possible!
