White Nose Syndrome in Bats

I think some of us have mentioned odd bat behavior near the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail.

Illness May Wipe Out Bats

I started this thread after a winter hike up the Ammo and a conversation with a state biologist.

Tim

DrJJFate said:

I think some of us have mentioned odd bat behavior near the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail.

Illness May Wipe Out Bats

Click to expand...

Damn that freakin' fungus...!

I found a bat in my patio umbrella and I was glad to see at least one bat is alive and doing well. Maybe we need to build bathouses on our properties to prevent large bat communities from gathering together and killing each other off with the disease.

(Resurrecting a very old thread, but it's been a busy few weeks.)

Carlsbad has now posted a notice requesting people to stay out of the caverns if they are wearing any clothing that's been in a cave between Delaware and Maine in the past six months. The map of affected area is scary huge.

From today's Boston Globe:

Scientists at a weekend meeting in Boston of the American Society for Microbiology said they may have found ways to help a common species of bat that is at risk of being wiped out by a novel fungal disease. Lab tests show several drugs can fight the germ and some antiseptics might help decontaminate areas where the little brown bat lives, or the shoes of people who visit them. More research is needed to see whether using these tools is practical and safe. (AP)

Drugs for Bats

Interesting. Fingers very crossed. Another article with more info is here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/13/white-nose-syndrome-scien_n_714426.html

CONCORD, N.H. -- Recent surveys for bats in New Hampshire hibernacula, places where bats spend the winter, resulted in biologists finding a total of only 28 bats, with two formerly very common species missing.
“White-nose syndrome has decimated little brown bats and northern long-eared bats,” said New Hampshire Fish and Game biologist Emily Preston. “Little brown bats were the most common species in the state before 2009.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Newsroom/2014/Q2/BatSurveys_040814.html


Tim