A bat displaying the characteristic white fungus of WNS.
A disease called
White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) is spreading through the eastern United States, killing bat populations. Although this disease does not bother humans it has been associated with the
deaths of more than 1 million bats in just three years.
The cause of WNS remains elusive, but the syndrome has been linked to a fungus that forms a white covering on bats' muzzles as well as other body parts such as the wings, causing intense irritation.
The fungus seems to prefer cold temperatures and so strikes bats when they are most vulnerable—during hibernation. The irritation causes affected bats to wake and use up energy reserves long before spring comes. They then starve or freeze, and die.
First identified in a cave in New York state in 2006, WNS has spread southward and westward and has now been positively tracked to the mountains of western Virginia.
While the contagion has not yet been found at Mammoth Cave, scientists warn that its appearance may only be a matter of time.
The potential exists for loss of hundreds of thousands more bats—and perhaps entire species—bad news for us as bats devour millions of insect pests and play a role in pollination.
