Bats in New York and Vermont are mysteriously dying off by the thousands, often with a white ring of fungus around their noses, and scientists in hazmat suits are crawling into dank caves to find out why.
“White nose syndrome,” as the killer has been dubbed, is spreading at an alarming rate, with researchers calling it the gravest threat in memory to bats in the U.S.
“This is definitely unprecedented,” said Lori Pruitt, an endangered-species biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bloomington, Ind. “The hugest concern at this point is that we do not know what it is.”
A significant loss of bats is chilling in itself to wildlife experts. But —like the mysterious mass die-offs around the country of bees that pollinate all sorts of vital fruits and vegetables — the bat deaths could have economic implications. Bats feed on insects that can damage dozens of crops, including wheat and apples.
“Without large populations of bats, there would certainly be an impact on agriculture,” said Barbara French of Bat Conservation International of Austin, Texas.
Found by Tracy Taylor.
Recession, of course!
I bet this current word of the day can explain it all.
We all know it Bush’s fault…Bush lied, bats died…its an inside job I tell you…
It might be relevant…Ms. Clinton in Russia…shes a hottie now…check out them hips…
Seriously…finally a worthwhile earmark…
Lets get it in the budget with the other 9000+ earmarks…50 million sounds right…
Can’t they just spray some stem cells on them to cure the thing?
#15 ECA said “its the poisons we have used to fight them..mosquito’s.. then the ramifications of killing off a natural predator of the mosquito. Of destroying the homes of THAT predator.. THEN needing to DEAL with the problem that, that Predator SOLVED..”
… not that I want to get picky over this, BUT… we haven’t destroyed the homes of bats in any significant way that I know of. Building bat houses has been popular for several decades. And, bats did not SOLVE the mosquito problem by any stretch… thats why we tried pesticides… which I agree was, and is, still a mistake.
FYI, bats aren’t harmless to humans either. They can carry deadly diseases like rabies and SARS. Not sure about this but I think most of the cases of rabies in humans are from bats.
I luv bats. This sucks !
#8 Remember what Nancy Raegan said about crack bat babies.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling, oops, just some bats and bees… Nothing to worry about!! Now if they were cute furry puppies and kittens, you’d have plenty of people in an outrage. But these are just creatures that most people are afraid of, so maybe we’re better off without them, right? Silly Hoomans, so easily influenced by fear that common sense is practically unknown to them.
#21, Alphie,
We all know it Bush’s fault…Bush lied, bats died…its an inside job I tell you… …
You are definately on to something. Although it is quite possible that the bats found Bushes old coke stash in a cave and got into it.
If the bats die off, the flying insects will rule the world.
26,
yah, keep talking about rabies, and remember when we were YOUNG and our parents told us, about THAT creature COULD have rabies..
There are only 2-3 bat species that SUCK BLOOD. And the ALMIGHTY Vampire bat is in the southern states and SOUTH..
90% of them are insectivores..9% fruit eaters..
Have you ever seen a sky full of bats?? go back 150 years.
we have destroyed there caves, where 1000′s and 1000′s live. And you think a BAT BOX is going to house enough BATS to clear out a city?
#31
Vampires are liberals, and they are mostly in the north.
They suck the blood of the entire nations.
Only partial vampires are in the south (republicans). Partial – because they suck the blood of the citizens only, leaving corporations usually untouched and healthily fat…
When this was discussed on Quirks and Quarks (CBC radio program) some weeks ago, there was a plausible theory: the fungus makes the hibernating bat very itchy. Every few weeks it wakes up (with concomitant rise in metabolism) to scratch, goes back to hibernation … and by the end of the winter, it no longer has enough fat / energy stores to survive.
Two things come to mind:
1. In order to see the bats in trouble, someone needs to visit the cave. What are the visitors carrying in on their boots that may flourish in the nutrient-rich cave floor material?
2. Is there a linkage between the bat die-offs and researcher’s first visits to the cave?
Secondarily…
Check for temperature amd humidity changes.
Check for seasonal shifts in ground-level fungus spore production due to global warming. Perhaps the bats are flying through clouds of the spores and carrying the back to the cave.