Why it matters
Curse of the white nose
24th May 2008
Up to half a million bats have died, upward of 97-per-cent mortality in some caves.
Bats across the northeastern U.S. are dying in vast numbers, but nobody understands why. And it is only a matter of time before the cause – whatever it is – crosses the border, experts say.
“I would be shocked if it doesn’t show up in Canada next year,” says biologist Al Hicks of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. “For all we know, it is in Ontario already.”
The bats appear to be dying of starvation, but it’s unclear whether the cause is a fungus on their bodies, or if something else is making them sick and the fungus then grows on the weakened creatures.
Yet another theory is that the starvation is being caused by a decrease in insects, which constitute the bats’ main source of food. “There is no smoking gun,” Mr. Hicks says.
Dubbed “white-nosed syndrome,” after the white fungus covering their snouts, the condition has struck bat populations in Vermont, Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts. Up to half a million have died this year, upward of 97-per-cent mortality in some caves.
Bat biologists – including three from Canada – will meet in two weeks in Albany, N.Y., to swap data and theories. They hope to solve the puzzle as soon as possible, for our sake as well as the bats’ – the nocturnal creatures are crucial for keeping insect populations in check, with each animal devouring up to several thousand bugs per summer night.
Published in The Green Report in The Globe and Mail
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