I've written several stories recently about white-nose syndrome in bats. It's been a dismal progression.
In the first, the Pennsylvania Game Commission was finding a white fungus associated with the syndrome in bats, but there were no deaths. New Jersey said it was investigating.
In the second, New Jersey reported massive bat deaths at its two major bat "hibernacula" -- the place where bats spend the winter.
In the third, Pennsylvania reported hundreds of deaths in Lackawanna County -- bats flying from their caves in search of nonexistent insects, falling from the sky, their little carcasses piled atop the snow.
The Game Commission has said it wouldn't be possible to take me and a photographer into one of the mines. They're too inaccessible and dangerous. But here's a video they posted on You Tube that gives a sense of what it's like in there.
Sandy, I have been following your articles about the bats and the white-nose syndrome. Bats are wonderful little creatures for so many reasons and this matter really needs to be looked into further and more aggressively as it's a serious one. There is a very fragile balance in nature and while nature has its own way to keep populations down, something about this just doesn't seem right, like it's happening way too fast and the death rate is too high. Thank you for keeping us informed and up-to-date. Here's hoping that your next one will be more encouraging :-)— Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.
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