ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Wildlife managers in the American Southwest say a once-rare bat important to the pollination of plants used to produce tequila has made a comeback and is being removed from the federal endangered species list.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the delisting of the lesser long-nosed bat Tuesday, making it the first bat ever removed from the nation's list of threatened and endangered species.
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The decision comes a year after first being proposed in the U.S.
Mexico delisted the bat in 2015.
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Federal officials say it has taken 30 years of conservation efforts by biologists and volunteers in Mexico and the U.S., as well as tequila producers in Mexico to rebuild a healthy population.
Now, there are about 200,000 of the nectar-feeding animals and dozens of roost sites.