People urged to stay out of caves to fight deadly bat disease

[Liberal_in_LA]

first the bees, now bats are dying

People urged to stay out of caves to fight deadly bat disease

Fungus causes early end of hibernation


THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: April 6, 2009

LOUISVILLE, Ky.

Federal officials are asking people in Kentucky and other states, including North Carolina, to stay out of caves where bats hibernate to try to stop the spread of a disease that's killing thousands them.

Bats are dying from what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service calls "white-nose syndrome." The fungus causes bats to come out of hibernation early, leading to starvation. It hasn't yet showed up in Kentucky, but officials are still asking people to stay out of caves where bats nest.

"It's amazing how fast it's moved south," said Steve Thomas, an ecologist with the National Park Service based at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. "It's devastating to the bats."

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Author and cave explorer Roger Brucker, who has written about Kentucky caves, said bats are known to eat three to five times their weight in insects per night, "and the death of hundreds of thousands of bats means millions of pounds of dangerous mosquitoes and other bugs can overwhelm farm crops, animals, and infect people."

http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/apr/06/people-urged-to-stay-out-of-caves-to-fight-deadly-/

[Duer 157099]

1. I pledge to do my part. I will not go into any caves. Promise

(that's not going to be hard to uphold)

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. Ok but you are missing out. They are so cool.

[Duer 157099]

4. I know. It's a sacrifice.

Honestly, I've never been in a cave and I have a real fascination of them.

[cwydro]

2. I was a caver all through college...

I came to love those little critters.

[ddeclue]

5. OP title had me believing that spelunkers would catch bat-shit-crazy-itus like Michel Bachmann

I didn't realize the disease was going the other way.

:(