First it was the Bees - Now it's the Bats. Why Are Thousands of Bats Dying in NY?

Why Are Thousands of Bats Dying in NY?
By MICHAEL HILL (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
February 14, 2008 2:13 PM EST

ROSENDALE, N.Y. - 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.

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/nat?guid=20080214/47b3cad0_3421_1334520080214-772432189

:(

:-(

from warmer climes - a lot of tropical fevers from dengue to malaria will start making inroads on the continental US with just a 1-3 degree temperature rise, and without bats to feed on the mosquitos and flies that spread them we could see emergent epidemics.

that's the area we moved from and we had a ton of bats. The were literally lined up under the overhang where the basement doors where. The droppings were a problem (didn't want them tracked into the house because we had an infant at the time). We had to try to relocate them to a bat house in the back yard near the woods.

Thanks for the link. I'm going to forward to a friend who also moved up here to Maine from Rosendale.

I know, I know, they're not all vampire bats, but I had to say it.

I hope they come up with a solution soon.

Caused by environmental toxins?

Not good.