Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) Maui, Hawaii. The Hawaiian hoary bat is the official state land mammal of Hawaii. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr / Flickr (use permitted with attribution).
Official Land Mammal of Hawaii
The Ōpe'ape'a or Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) was designated the official state land mammal of Hawaii in 2015. Hawaii also recognizes a state mammal and a state marine mammal. Texas, Oklahoma, and Virginia also designated species of bat as official state mammal symbols. All State Mammals
According to Bat Conservation International: "In a news release ... the state lawmaker (R, Diamond Head, Kahala, Hawaii Kai) said: "The ōpe‘ape‘a is worthy of the title ” because“ it has been here for so long, and faithfully provides free pest control services to us all. Most importantly, this bipartisan effort to elevate the bat's status to state land mammal will increase awareness of the environmental issues affecting its survival."