Rabid Bat Found Near Safari Park Restaurant Prompts Health Warning

This marks the 19th bat to test positive for rabies in San Diego County so far this year.

Published: 7/22/2026, 5:20:17 AM EDT

Rabid Bat Found Near Safari Park Restaurant Prompts Health Warning — This is an undated closeup photo of the eastern pipistrelle bat, a species that is frequently linked with human rabies cases. (Merlin D./The Canadian Press/AP)

A bat found dead outside a restaurant at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park has tested positive for rabies, prompting county health officials to seek out anyone who may have touched the animal.

The bat was found at 12:10 p.m. on July 11 at the Oasis on the Rocks restaurant inside the Safari Park, according to the county.

A trained park employee collected the animal, and officials said no human contact with the bat has been reported so far, according to a recent San Diego County News Center press release.

County officials stressed that the bat was not part of the park's animal collection. The specimen was taken to the County Public Health Laboratory on July 13, where testing confirmed rabies.

Health Officials Seek Close Contacts

County Public Health Services is asking anyone who had direct contact with the bat—including touching or holding it—or who knows someone who may have, to call (619) 692-8499 immediately. Officials noted that only people with direct physical contact face any risk of infection.

"Rabies is an extremely serious viral disease, one of the deadliest, with nearly 100% fatality if not caught early enough," said Dr. Ankita Kadakia, the county's deputy public health officer. "We are investigating to ensure anyone who came into contact with the bat receives care quickly. Once symptoms start there is no treatment for rabies," Kadakia said.

Latest In A String Of Cases

This marks the 19th bat to test positive for rabies in San Diego County so far this year. That figure trails the 21 rabid bats recorded in all of 2025.

The Safari Park has seen rabid bats before.

A separate county release from March 25 detailed two earlier cases: a bat found March 21 near the White Oak Villas condo complex in Escondido and another found March 22 at the park's Okavango Restaurant, both of which later tested positive. Those two cases were the fourth and fifth rabid bats detected in the county this year.

Dr. Sayone Thihalilopavan, the county's public health officer, said earlier this year that rabies can spread through a bite or when an infected bat's saliva contacts a cut, scrape, or the eyes, nose, or mouth.

"Human rabies is almost always fatal without prompt post-exposure vaccination and treatment," Thihalilopavan said.

County health officials reiterated standard precautions: avoid touching bats or any wildlife, and wash any exposed skin with soap and seek medical advice immediately after contact with a bat. Rabies symptoms can take weeks or months to surface, but the disease is almost always fatal once symptoms begin.

Human rabies cases remain rare. California's most recent human case was recorded in 2024, when a Fresno County resident was exposed to a bat in Merced County.

Officials noted that bats serve an important ecological role in San Diego County, feeding on insects like mosquitoes and pollinating plants through nectar feeding. Residents may spot bats around sunset, when the animals are most active, and officials urged the public to give wildlife space.