The Bats and the Bees

[3113]

Talk about downer news for Halloween!

A looming extinction of bats from a spreading fungal disease has federal wildlife officials talking about whether bats should be raised in captivity to prevent a complete disappearance. Four years after the mysterious White Nose Syndrome was found in a cave outside Albany, more than a million bats in 11 states are dead, and researchers still have no way to stop it, Jeremy Coleman, WNS coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday.

"We are looking at everything. Even the reestablishment of bat populations is being considered, and that could include the captive maintenance and holding of bats, full-on propagation, down to the temporary holding of bat colonies during the winter in some kind of protected bunker," he said.

That such radical steps -- already being done for some amphibians that have disappeared from the wild -- are being discussed stems from the rapid spread of the illness, which is caused by a cold-loving, cave-dwelling white fungus that invades hibernating bats' noses and mouths. First found in 2006, the fungus strikes bats gathered in large numbers in caves during winter hibernation. Infected bats wake up before spring, burning precious fat reserves and starving to death as they flee caves before the return of their insect diet.

This summer, researchers warned the little brown bat, one of the nation's most common bats, could be wiped out within six years if the outbreak remains unchecked.

More here.

First the bees, now the bats. I like bats. I mean, not in person flapping around my head, but they're cool critters that keep down insect populations. Poor bats.

http://www.adamspestcontrol.com/files/5212/5450/6910/BrownBat.jpg

Hang in there buddy!

 

[TE999]

Now's the time to make a few bucks by buying stock in any company that manufactures mosquito repellent...we're all gonna need it.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

And don't forget the poor Tasmanian Devils!

 

[Bebeslut]

According to Tom Robbins, frogs also are disappearing.
Bees, bats and frogs: could this be environmental?

 

[Toqueme]

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