TAMPA, Fla. — Even in a city coming into its own, things don’t always go as planned. Take the bats, for instance.
In 2017, city officials became concerned about a bridge along the increasingly popular Riverwalk — one of several car-traffic bridges that people pass under while strolling, running, or partying on Tampa’s 2.6-mile waterside path along the Hillsborough River.
Under the Fortune Taylor Bridge between Water Works Park and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, the bridge’s concrete underpinnings over the water are home to thousands of bats, according to an estimate by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — likely Mexican or Brazilian free-tailed bats. When it’s dark out, bats can sometimes be seen over the water.
