White Nose Syndrome Seen in Bats in N.H. Hibernaculum

Residents Asked to Report Bats Seen Flying in Winter

More bad news for bats in New England: Though their findings have not yet been confirmed by lab testing, bat researchers monitoring New Hampshire's hibernating bats have found early signs of White Nose Syndrome (WNS) in bats at a mine in the Northwest part of the state. Biologists from N.H. Fish and Game's Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program and all across the region are involved in tracking WNS, which was discovered just two years ago and appears to be nearly always fatal to bats.

During their surveys of winter hibernacula (hibernating places, typically caves and mines), researchers took photographs of hibernating bats. In the images from one mine where hundreds of bats hibernate, several bats had the characteristic white fungus on their muzzles. "We don't know whether the cold-loving white fungus is a symptom of WNS or the cause," said Emily Brunkhurst, biologist with the Nongame Program. "We also don't know exactly how the syndrome spreads," she added, "but we do know that the white fungus is the first sign that it has arrived. In other hibernacula, when the white fungus has been seen, it's only a matter of time before a high percentage of the bats are affected. The fungus spreads from their faces to their wings and tails, their behavior changes, they use up their stores of body fat and get very skinny. And they die."

Rest of the story:
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Newsroom/News_2009/News_2009_Q1/WNS_seen_in_NH_bats_022309.html

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