GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK — Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) has hosted some unanticipated overnight guests this summer: bats.
“A suspected bat colony was recently discovered in an attic space above guest rooms 516, 518, 520, 522, 524, 526, 528 and 530 at the Jackson Lake Lodge,” GTNP’s website states, noting that it was updated on Aug. 8. “There is no immediate threat to the public.”
Grand Teton Lodge Company has received eight reports since June 2 from overnight guests “who may have been exposed to bats” in the lodge, the website states. The affected rooms have been closed to visitors while public health professionals assess the situation.
Guests who might have been exposed to the bats are being contacted directly to determine any possible risk of rabies exposure, per the park. Anyone who has stayed at the lodge this summer suspecting a potential bat interaction is encouraged to contact RoomsGTLC@vailresorts.com or (307) 543-3044.
Bats can expose humans to rabies through bites and scratches, and through saliva contact with a human’s open wound or mucus membrane. The disease can be fatal if untreated. A bat bite might not bleed or be visible to the naked eye due to the small size of bats’ teeth, GTNP pointed out.
“A person who cannot confirm or communicate a potential exposure — like a child, a deep sleeper or someone who is mentally impaired or on mind-altering drugs — might be considered at-risk,” GTNP’s website states.
Dr. Alexia Harrist with the Wyoming Department of Health told Buckrail that individual bats from the colony have tested negative for rabies, but that “even if we tested every single bat that might still be there, we can’t guarantee there wasn’t a rabid bat there at some point.”
Harrist added that the risk for rabies exposure from bats is “low,” but that the health department has recommended a post-exposure prophylaxis regimen, which can include a series of vaccines, for contacted hotel guests who were identified as being higher risk.
In years past, there have been instances of Teton County bats testing positive for the disease. According to the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory’s website, three bats in the Jackson region tested positive in 2023, one tested positive in 2020, two tested positive in 2019 and two tested positive in 2017, which was the first year an infected bat was confirmed to be in Teton County.
Bats could have been present in the lodge area since it opened on May 15, and more than 200 guests have stayed in the affected rooms since the season began, according to the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Multiple species of bats call the park home, and the species that was residing in the lodge is still unknown, GTNP told Buckrail via email. Those most commonly found within park boundaries are little brown bats, followed by big brown bats, silver-haired bats, hoary bats, Yuma bats, long-legged bats and long-eared bats.
Famously, the Jackson Lake Lodge hosts the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual Economic Policy Symposium every August. This year, the bankers will convene Aug. 21 to 23.
