In several Northeastern states, tens of thousands of bats have died from what is being called "white-nose syndrome." Watch
a short video about the condition.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service says:
White-nose syndrome was first detected at caves and mines in New York last winter (2006), where it is believed to be associated with the deaths of approximately 8,000 to 11,000 bats. This winter (2007), WNS has again been found at the previously affected sites, and has spread to additional sites in New York as well as sites in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Approximately 400,000 to 500,000 bats hibernate at affected sites.
Indiana State University's Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation has established a fund for research and response activities related to WNS – information is available at
http://www.indstate.edu/ecology/centers/bat.htm. In addition, Bat Conservation International has established a Fund for White-nose Syndrome Research. Information is available at
www.batcon.org.
:
"I'm continuing to get calls on a daily basis from cities and residents reporting dead bats," says Scott Darling of the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife. Spot surveys are being done in the five states, but conservation officials won't get a solid sense of further losses until later this month when male bats begin returning to caves, Darling says.
One bat can eat more than a pound of night-time insects in a week. White-nose syndrome threatens the endangered Indiana bat, Darling says, and agricultural pest numbers may explode without bats.
