Four rabies-positive bats have been confirmed in Thousand Oaks this year, part of a record-setting surge across Ventura County. Health officials are urging residents to avoid contact with wildlife and keep pets vaccinated.
As of Sept. 21, Ventura County Animal Services had confirmed 28 rabid bats countywide in 2026, The Acorn reported. That total already surpasses the 22 cases recorded in all of 2025, which had been the previous high. In 2024, the county confirmed just six.
Of the 28 cases, nine were found in Simi Valley and eight in Camarillo. The agency said rabies-positive bats are "very likely" present in Moorpark as well, given its proximity to Simi Valley.
Westlake Village has also been affected. A rabid bat was discovered Aug. 22 on a sidewalk near Village Center Road and Greengate Court, outside the business center in First Neighborhood, according to a notice sent by Los Angeles County to the property owners association. That case falls under L.A. County's jurisdiction, where 69 rabid bats have been confirmed in 2026, matching that county's all-time single-year record.
"We're seeing a large uptick in the number of bats that are testing positive for rabies," Randy Friedman, public information officer for Ventura County Animal Services, told KCLU on Sept. 21.
Friedman said the confirmed count is likely an undercount, since it reflects only bats that were found and tested. More than 22% of bats tested in Ventura County this year came back positive for rabies.
Health officials have not pinpointed a cause for the spike. Possible factors include warmer, drier conditions affecting bat behavior and food supply, increased public reporting and development pushing people closer to wildlife habitat.
About one-third of bat encounters happen indoors, where exposure risk is greater, according to Ventura County Animal Services. Health officials say late summer is peak bat season.
Esteban Rodriguez, director of Ventura County Animal Services, said in a Sept. 18 joint statement with Ventura County Public Health that pet owners should keep rabies vaccinations current. Pets that spend time outdoors may encounter infected wildlife, and vaccination protects both the animal and the people around it, Rodriguez said.
Under California law, dogs must be vaccinated against rabies statewide. Cats must be vaccinated in Westlake Village, Moorpark, Calabasas, Hidden Hills and unincorporated Los Angeles County. Signs of rabies in pets include sudden behavior changes, excessive drooling and progressive paralysis. The disease is almost always fatal once symptoms appear but is preventable through vaccination.
Ventura County has never recorded a human rabies case. In 2024, a Fresno County resident died from rabies after handling a bat in Merced County about a month earlier, according to the Ventura County joint statement. It was California's first human rabies death since 2012.
Residents who find a bat indoors, or spot one that appears sick, active during the day, unable to fly or dead should call Ventura County Animal Services at (805) 388-4341. The agency advises residents never to touch a bat or any wild animal.
