batnotes

(Do you see it?!!!)

Bats are easily one of my favorite mammals.  I love their association with twilight -- their emergence at the brink of night to spend their waking hours flying about under the cover of darkness.  I am not one of those vampire goofs but I get bats' "creature of the night" intrigue.  Plus, I think that they're just plain cute.

The truth is that bats are not all that mysterious to those who want to know them but they are now dangerously threatened by a fungus that was a mystery until last fall.  White Nose Syndrome was first detected in cave-hibernating bats in New York in the winter of 2006 and in the brief period of time since its discovery, White Nose Syndrome has spread into the caves and mines where bats hibernate throughout 19 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces.  In addition to the rapid spread of White Nose Syndrome the extreme mortality rate of infected colonies is equal cause for alarm.  Hibernating colonies infected with White Nose Syndrome are decimated at a rate of 70 - 100 percent and it is estimated that in the last four winters 5.7 to 6.7 million bats have been killed by the syndrome -- totalling an 80 percent decline in bat populations overall in the eastern states.  Most of this occurred before experts had even identified the fungus that causes the syndrome.   

Even if you are among the faintest-hearted of chiroptophobes (bat-fearers, of course), consider this:  The average little brown bat eats approximately 1000 mosquito-sized insects an hour.  One big brown bat eats 9 million insects in one year -- providing considerable peace of mind for the entomophobes (insect-fearers ... of course).  Never mind that the estimated costs related to controlling the resulting increase in insect populations stretch into the billions of dollars.  

The disease-causing fungus originates in European caves (the fungus causes no harm to our north American bats' European cousins) and was likely spread to U.S. caves by cavers and/or researchers through contaminated clothing and gear.  To date experts aren't clear why the fungus causes bats to die though research indicates that infected bats wake more frequently during hibernation than non-infected bats and have been observed outside of the caves in winter months seeking either food or water.  It is thought that the fungus causes extreme dehydration, perhaps to the point of death.  What is still not known about the syndrome makes it very difficult to treat infected colonies or prevent further spread.

The prognosis is not exactly hopeful, but not hopeless either.  Research continues, caves, mines and abandoned furnaces where bats are known to hibernate have been closed to the general public and strict decontamination procedures are followed by professionals who research and monitor the populations, and it has been observed that after the initial decline, mortality rates seem to have stabilized in the New England states.  Education remains the best defense and the general public is advised to observe advisories of cave closings, report sightings of dead bats or bats in flight during winter, reconsider, when at all possible, evicting bats from roosts, educate others about the benefits of bats, and install bat houses.

For this information I owe a debt of gratitude to OSU Extension Wildlife Program Specialist Marne Titchenell and her excellent presentation last night.  Also, thanks to The Dawes Arboretum for hosting this program and the July meeting of the Licking County Chapter of the Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalists.

In addition to the presentation we enjoyed a "live demo" as we watched local bats emerge from the woods and begin to feed over the pond at the Japanese Garden ...  AND listened in to their echo-location "calls" on the BAT DETECTOR (gotta get me one of those -- is there an app?).  Unfortunately IPhone camera + low light + rapidly moving bats = bad pictures, so here's a closer, still not so good, photo of a sweet bat who shared the bathhouse with me last summer for a couple of days at Big Bend in WV -- and yes, I went to the bathhouse at dusk and hung out there waiting for it to wake up and head out into the night:)

More on Marne Titchenell and White Nose Syndrome here.
White Nose Syndrome info here and here (an excellent site for all things bat).


And one more thing...
Holy Hands Batman -- those aren't wings at all!!!