WNS goes mainstream

I can't even begin to say how thrilled I am about this: just yesterday, Good Morning America featured a story about White Nose Syndrome and the dying bats. While the news itself continues to be bleak, I am so encouraged that the mainstream media has finally picked this up. You can go here to watch the segment.

WNS updates

Read previous post "On the brink of bat-astrophe" to see what all the fuss is about...

UPDATE: March 11, 2009
More news on White Nose Syndrome. Unfortunately, it's not good. You can go here to get audio of a public radio story about the most recent discoveries. While I'm glad that WNS is starting to get more media attention, I am terribly saddened by the news itself.

UPDATE: March 5, 2009
Here's an article that my Fish and Wildlife friend just sent to me. It's good to know that some progress is being made. And even better to know that this problem is beginning to get mainstream media attention.

On the brink of bat-astrophe?

One of my favorite summertime activities is to sit down by the pond as the sun goes down and watch the bats come out to feed on all those tasty insects. They put on quite a show, swooping high and low, consuming as much as their own body weight in any given night.

We've never had an insect "problem". Even through the wettest, steamiest summers we rarely have to use insect repellent, and I've always believed it's because we have such a healthy bat population in our woods. Indeed, bats provide a very beneficial and free insect extermination service.

I'm afraid that's all about to change. I recently learned about a mysterious ailment afflicting entire bat populations throughout the Northeastern U.S. It's officially known as White Nose Syndrome (WNS), named for the strange white fungus that is found growing around the nose of the dead bats. Entire bat colonies - hundreds of animals - have been found dead and the cause is still unknown.

The syndrome was only just discovered in 2007 and this malady has already decimated dozens of colonies throughout New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and most recently West Virginia. At the rate it's spreading (which is very, very fast), White Nose Syndrome could reach our bat populations in Ohio before the end of this year! Research is being done, but the explanations and solutions aren't coming fast enough. It is possible that many - perhaps all - bat species could go extinct in a matter of years, even before we have a chance to figure out why. I can't imagine what our woods would be like without our bats, not to mention the impact such a loss would have on our neighbors' crops and agriculture.

Not one to sit idly by when presented with a crisis, I'm spreading the word and donating money for research. Bat Conservation International will accept designated WNS donations and they seem to be the best bat conservation organization out there. If you'd like more information about White Nose Syndrome, click here.

(By the way, I can't take credit for the photo. I found it on flickr and it's by Norm Walsh.)