Deadly "White-Nose" Fungus Threatens To Destroy All Bats

A bat suffering from white-nosed fungus (Department of Environmental Conservation)

Why "white-nose syndrome" that has been wreaking havoc on the country's bat population for quite a while now is hitting a fever pitch, with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service warning that the little guys might soon be extinct thanks to the deadly fungus.

The fungus causes bats to behave strangely during winter months—flying outside during the day and clustering near the entrances of caves and mines where they hibernate—and it eventually eats through bats' skin and destroys their membranes. Wildlife officials estimate that as many as 6.7 million bats have died already, and the disease is only spreading.

And whether or not you think the little guys are creepy or cute, they do have their benefits: "Bats provide tremendous value to the U.S. economy as natural pest control for American farms and forests every year, while playing an essential role in helping to control insects that can spread disease to people,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. “Unlike some of the extinction events or population depletion events we’ve seen in the past, we’re looking at a whole group of animals here, not just one species,” said Mylea Bayless of Bat Conservation International in Austin. "We don’t know what that means, but it could be catastrophic.”

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By Jamie Feldmar in News on January 19, 2012 10:29 AM

Comments [rss]

Sinchy

We have an entire species of beneficial predators about to disappear and our representatives are busy with insipid primaries and harebrained legislation like SOPA. Environmental disasters like this are far more threatening to this country than any tribe in Afghanistan.

birdtird

Great, next thing you're gonna tell me is that some brainiac wants to exhume natural gas from the earth while dumping lots of gallons of toxic byproduct back into the earth, with very little regard for the safety of the inhabitants of said vicinity. My day's been ruined.

AGWAGW

What these guys need is someone to dress up like a bat and do something that draws attention--like fight crime--to raise awareness and donations to the cause.

pendejito

"Crazy in my brain, got no cocaine, I don't wanna, I don't wanna, go insane"

MattyGC

huh, huh..the bat, has like, white stuff on its nose. huh huh. it's like, cocaine, uhuhuhuh...

i don't think you could be any lamer.

pendejito

Uhm, yeah, it takes knowing the song to "get" it. Somehow you overlooked the first comment from J_Temperance, that referenced cocaine.

Why don't you go ahead, run along, and comment on his post too.

garlon1

Just to clarify, this disease does not affect every species of bat but only those that use hibernation as a survival strategy. That said, it is a horrible and depressing situation.

splicernyc

When all the bats die off, we'll have to adopt apes as our new pets.

e non

get your yucks in while you can ...
bats that chew up billions of dollars worth of crop damaging insects;
bee colony collapse that puts even more stress on those hives remaining that are used to pollinate crops.
mutated fish/frogs... indicating major toxins int he waterways...
we are soooooooo fucked.