Family-Outdoors

  A biologist prepares to swab a tri-colored bat during annual surveillance efforts. (Jena Donnell/ODWC) Three tri-colored bats,  Perimyotis subflavus,  from a privately owned cave in eastern Oklahoma's Delaware County have tested positive for the fungus,  Pseudogymnoascus destructans,  that is associated with the disease known as white-nose syndrome. This disease has been confirmed in seven hibernating bat species across the eastern United States. With these new findings, Oklahoma becomes the third state where the fungus has been confirmed, but the disease is not present.    Bats are crucial to a healthy ecosystem. They play a key role in keeping insect populations including agricultural pests and mosquitos under control. In cave systems, they also provide nutrients for other cave life through their droppings.    "While disheartening, these results are not totally unexpected," said Melynda Hickman, ...

Little brown bat with white-nose syndrome  (Photo credit: Wikipedia) MADISON –  White Nose Syndrome, the fungus that causes a deadly bat disease, has been confirmed in an Iowa cave popular among cavers. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources confirmed today that recent surveillance efforts for the bat disease White Nose Syndrome (WNS) detected the fungus on a bat at Maquoketa Caves State Park in northwest Iowa, just 30 miles from Wisconsin and within easy flying distance of bats dispersing from this cave. Wisconsin bat officials urge people to take steps required to avoid spreading the fungus when visiting caves or other underground sites in and around Wisconsin. “Wisconsin cavers and cave owners have worked hard with us to take actions to protect bat populations,” says Jennifer Schehr-Redell, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources cave and mine specialist. “Now we need everyone to follow the rules for decontaminating and moving gear to save our cave bats...