Large Bat?

[Vertigo]

Is there any species of bat in eastern TN that is large enough to be mistaken for an owl??? One of my friends said he saw a really large bat in TN at a lake near Benton, TN.

[fuzzy-hair-man]

A fruit bat or flying fox, not sure if you get them over there though (wikipedia tells me you don't) but they have a wing span up to 1.5m (5 feet)

[Ralph E. Powers]

A fruit bat or flying fox, not sure if you get them over there though (wikipedia tells me you don't) but they have a wing span up to 1.5m (5 feet)

Flying foxes are generally tropical bats, feeding on fruits in jungle type areas. TAG hardly qualifies.
Your friend probably did see an owl, they sometimes roost in caves near the twilight zones.
If am not mistaken the largest (intercontinental) U.S. bat would have to be the Big Brown.

[Teresa]

There are a number of night-flying insect-eating birds like some swallows or nighthawks (nightjars) (not bats nor owls) which swoop erratically like bats. It's a good bug catching adaptation.

If your friend heard the bird, it probably was not an owl...they're creepy that way...you hear nothing but feel the wind move where they've disturbed it.

[Komebeaux]

I think the Mastiff Bat is bigger than a Big Brown, as is the Hoary Bat. While the Hoary Bat might officially call Tennessee home, I think they have not confirmed any Mastiff Bat out that way.

[wyandottecaver]

having observed and handled thousands of bats as well as responded to numerous "bats in my house" calls I will also point out that many people over estimate the size of bats on the wing. scale can be deceiving and so assuming they did in fact see a bat it could have been a "normal" size bat that appeared larger outlined by the sky.