White-nose Syndrome has devastated bat populations across the eastern United States during the past five years, causing “the most precipitous wildlife decline in the past century in North America,” according to biologists. And this relentless disease keeps spreading into new areas. BCI is working with agencies, organizations and individuals to understand and stop WNS and begin restoring these decimated bat populations.
White-nose Syndrome has killed more than a million bats since it was discovered in a single New York cave in February 2006. Nine bat species in 19 U.S. states and 4 Canadian provinces have now been documented with either WNS or the fungus, Geomyces destructans, that is the demonstrated cause of this devastating disease.
Named for a cold-loving white fungus typically found on the faces and wings of infected bats, White-nose Syndrome causes bats to awaken more often during hibernation and use up the stored fat reserves that are needed to get them through the winter. Infected bats often emerge too soon from hibernation and are often seen flying around in midwinter. These bats usually freeze or starve to death.
Mortality rates approaching 100 percent are reported at some sites. White-nose Syndrome threatens some of the largest hibernation caves for endangered Indiana myotis, gray myotis, and Virginia big-eared bats. Ultimately, bats across North America are at imminent risk.
Tell the White House! Sign this petition; tell the White House we cannot afford to ignore WNS. Read more.
Culprit Identified: Fungus Causes Deadly Bat Disease. Read the news release here.
WNS reaches Maine: Officials confirm the first case of White-nose Syndrome in Maine. Read the press release here.
WNS Hits Kentucky: Officials confirm White-nose Syndrome on a little brown myotis in a cave in western Kentucky. Read the press release here.WNS reaches New Brunswick. New Brunswick Museum Researchers discover bat-killing fungus in New Brunswick. Read the New Brunswick Museum press release here.
WNS reaches Ohio. Wildlife officials have confirmed the first case of White-nose Syndrome in bats hibernating in an abandoned mine on the Wayne National Forest in Lawrence County. Read the press release here. White-nose Syndrome hits North Carolina bats. A Wildlife Resources Commission Biologist says North Carolina now faces “one of the most devastating threats to bat conservation in our time.” Read the NC press release here.
WNS fungus reaches Indiana. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced that a bat from Washington County, Indiana has tested positive for the fungus Geomyces destructans and additional bats with signs of WNS were discovered during routine bat counts at other caves. Indiana is now the 15th state to document WNS-associated fungus and represents significant spread by the fungus into the upper Midwest. Read the press release here.
For updates about white nose syndrome please visit http://batcon.org/index.php/what-we-do/white-nose-syndrome.html