Tri-colored Bat napping in Cascade Cave at Carter Caves.
Growing up, I was very fortunate to live on and near Carter Caves State Resort Park. It was always a special place to me. Beautiful scenery, spectacular caves, and wonderful staff made visits to my Aunt's (a park employee) an always welcome trip. In fact, as I grew older, my first job was as a Cave Guide at the park, and Carter Caves played as much of a role in the shaping of my career as Park Naturalist as any one person (and there were many) could have done. One of the things that fed my love for wildlife during this time were the bats that could be found in any of the caves that were toured during the summer. Roughly fifteen or so species of bats could be found in one location of the park or another, and the park was home to one of the largest hibernating populations of Indiana Bats (a Federally Endangered Species) in the United States. Getting to see these protected animals in their natural environment was something that fueled my desire to conserve natural resources and educate the public about the importance of these fascinating animals.
Red Bat (photo courtesy of Dr. Thomas Barnes)
Bats are in danger. A contagious, deadly fungus called White Nose Syndrome (we will refer to this as WNS) is sweeping across the Eastern United States, infecting and killing bats along the way. This fungus came across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe and was first discovered on bats in New York in February of 2006. Since its discovery in the states, it has made its way in to Canada, and spread southwest into other parts of the United States. This disease is resulting in nearly 100% mortality in all caves infected with this fungus. Despite efforts to slow the travel of this fungus, so far it has been in vain. It isn't the fungus itself (which is white in color and grows on the nose and wings of infected bats) but the side affects of the fungus. It causes intense itching, which wakes the bats up from hibernation and causes them to use up the fat reserves that they collected all summer to survive the winter. The result of this waking up and being unable to find insects to eat is death. Recently, WNS has turned up here in our mountains of eastern KY and southwest VA. The most recent reports in January has turned up in Letcher County at Kingdom Come State Park, and at my old home of Carter Caves State Park. It can be transmitted from one animal to another, and also on clothing worn from one cave to the next.
Education of this fungus is of utmost importance. Teaching others of the benefits of bats will help people to want to work toward the conservation of these animals. Bats consume millions of insects over the course of a year, and the loss of bats would be noticed immediately when the mosquitoes come poking around. In other parts of the world, bats provide pollination of fruiting trees and plants. The loss of bats would be detrimental to the agricultural industry.
You can do your part by telling your friends and family about the importance of bats. It will take each and every one of us to spread awareness of these animals and make a difference. I encourage you to make donations to both state and federal agencies to assist in the research on this disease and hopefully one day a cure. Together we can do it!
