“Bats dropping like flies”
This is alarming. I really love bats, by the way. It’s always a thrill when they swoop low over our heads when I’m out walking with the dogs in the early evening in the summertime. And, of course, besides being inherently valuable individuals, bats serve vital ecological functions. Yah, I have a very bad feeling about this…
| Bats are dying off by the thousands as they hibernate in caves and mines around New York and Vermont, sending researchers scrambling to find the cause of mysterious condition dubbed “white nose syndrome.†|
Alan Hicks, a bat specialist with New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation, called the quick-spreading disorder the “gravest threat†to bats he had ever seen. Up to 11,000 bats were found dead last winter and many more are showing signs illness this winter. One hard-hit cave went from more than 15,000 bats two years ago to 1,500 now |
Bats are considered particularly vulnerable when they hibernate, a time when they can hang together tightly by the thousands. |
The bat die-off has some eerie similarities with “colony collapse disorder,†the baffling affliction that began decimating honeybee colonies years ago. Scientists last fall said they suspected a virus previously unknown in the United States. |
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January 31st, 2008 | Category: Animals
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February 2nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
Interesting that these are colony-animals too. I wonder what will happen to the ants next.