‘Bat dance’ and reflections at sundown
Blogger takes in a twilight performance, and gives thanks.
Bats
Volunteers seek last survivors of devastating bat disease
Locating remnant populations and saving their habitat has become a national priority initiative, but the emergency has come on so fast there are not enough scientists to tackle the task alone.
Fungus that kills bats found in California for first time
Official says there is no sign the disease is currently affecting bat populations in California.
Bat population decline continues as expected
Annual Minnesota bat count shows continued effects of white-nose syndrome.
Scientists continue battle to save bats from mysterious disease
The Pennsylvania species being targeted by this fieldwork include northern long-eared bats. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services photo) QUANTICO, Va. — When the sun sets and nearby Marines wind down for the evening, Sam Freeze suits up and goes bat hunting. Six nights a week in the summer, the doctoral student at Virginia Tech tromps through the woods at Marine…
Dwindling bat numbers hindering Minnesota study
The number of the bats in Minnesota has seen a steep decline due to white-nose syndrome.
Officials seeing more Michigan bats infected with rabies
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan officials say they’re seeing higher numbers of bats with rabies. The Department of Health and Human Services says its labs had diagnosed 22 bats with the fatal illness as of June 28. A year ago, the total was nine. Two rabid skunks also have turned up. Rabies is a viral disease transmitted through the bite or…
For first time, fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats detected in Wyoming
Because of disease, the little brown bat is one of the rarest bats in Pennsylvania. About 99 percent of their population has been wiped out in the state. In January, the little brown was classified as endangered by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.CHEYENNE — Wyoming wildlife researchers working at Fort Laramie National Historic Site in Goshen County have detected the fungus that…
From thousands to about 25: Outbreak continues to ravage New Hampshire bat population
And for little brown bats, of which only one was found in survey, it will take “close to a century” for the species to recover.
White-nose syndrome in Kansas: Bat disease confirmed in 32nd state
Of the more than 1,000 species of bats around the world, 15 have been found in Kansas. Big brown bats are the most common and widespread species in the state and live in Kansas year-round. WNS has not been documented in big brown bats in Kansas; the bats can eat about one-third of their weight each night while feeding on insects.
Vandals deliver a blow to Michigan bat research project
DNR wildlife biologists have been working with researchers from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo to field test a treatment for bats and mines in the western Upper Peninsula, in hopes of developing an effective compound to combat white-nose syndrome.
In Alaska, citizen scientists can help keep bat disease at bay
JUNEAU, Alaska — America’s bats are in a bad way. Since 2006, a deadly fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) has ravaged bat populations across America, killing an estimated 6 million with as much as 99 percent fatality. WNS still hasn’t found its way to Alaska, but if and when it does, scientists at the Alaska Department of Fish…
Are bats bouncing back in Pennsylvania’s cavern system?
HUNTINGDON, Pa. — Officials at a Pennsylvania cave formation say bats have been observed hibernating there for the first time since a fungus nearly wiped out the state’s bat population. Lincoln Caverns coordinator Jennifer Brumbaugh says officials spotted four or five bats hibernating in the Huntingdon caverns this winter. Brumbaugh says the number is significant considering zero bats were observed…
Researcher: Fungus could wipe out big Alabama bat colony
Southeastern bat with white-nose syndrome. (Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources/Dottie Brown)BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Georgia researcher who has studied one of Alabama’s biggest bat colonies says it could be all but wiped out within years by the deadly fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. Chris Cornelison, a doctoral student at Kennesaw State University, and two other researchers surveyed the…
Louisiana could be key to bat survival of white-nose fungus
BATON ROUGE, La. — With Halloween here, it’s the bats that should be scared. A relatively new disease has ravaged populations across the eastern half of North America, but Louisiana could hold the key to keeping the species alive. Bats – of the order Chiroptera, meaning “winged hands” – may conjure images of blood-sucking vampires, but the local varieties are…
Wisconsin researcher hopes to use UV light to save bats
MADISON, Wis. — A researcher from a federal laboratory in Madison is experimenting with using ultraviolet light to control a fungal disease that has killed millions of cave-dwelling bats in the United States. Daniel Lindner, a research plant pathologist with the U.S. Forest Service, has received almost $156,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund his white-nose syndrome research, the…
Public-private partnership means nearly $1.4 million to fight bat disease
HOUSTON — A public-private partnership is granting nearly $1.4 million to test treatments to halt a disease threatening the nation’s bat population. The white-nose syndrome fungus, first detected in New York state in 2006, has spread to 31 states and five Canadian provinces. Texas and Nebraska are the most recent states infected. The grants announced Tuesday in Houston include more…
White-nose syndrome taking toll on Wisconsin bat population
MANITOWOC, Wis. — The number of bats in Wisconsin is dropping, and environmentalists blame the sudden loss on white-nose syndrome, a fatal disease that is passed bat to bat. The deadly disease traveled east to Wisconsin around 2014, and some counties have lost an estimated 90 percent of their bat population, The Herald Times Reporter reported. Manitowoc County also has…
Idaho racing to combat deadly bat fungus
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Officials are scrambling to slow a deadly fungal disease that has killed millions of bats before it eventually spreads to Idaho. The Times-News reports the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is partnering with National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Idaho Power Co. and Idaho National Laboratory to monitor for the fungus….
Researchers aim to slow bat disease in Minnesota
White-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats since it was first discovered in North America 10 years ago, but scientist hopes to find a treatment – deep in the cold damp shafts of the Soudan Mine.
First southeastern bat with white-nose syndrome found in Alabama
The species joins eight other hibernating bat species in North America that are afflicted with the deadly bat fungal disease.
Bat disease white-nose syndrome now confirmed in 6 Minnesota counties
The disease has recently been confirmed in Becker, Dakota, Fillmore, Goodhue and Washington counties. Minnesota’s first confirmed case of WNS was in St. Louis County last March.
White-nose syndrome confirmed in Nebraska
Nebraska is the 30th state to confirm the presence of white-nose syndrome, which has killed more than 6 million bats since 2006. Additionally, the disease has been confirmed in five Canadian provinces.
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