• View news release list RSS

Vermont Bat Cave Research Assisted by Wisconsin DNR

WATERBURY, VT – Wildlife scientists are trying to learn more about white-nose syndrome (WNS) and how it infects bats. Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and New York Department of Environmental Conservation biologists received help from Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources on October 27, when Wisconsin donated 79 little brown bats to be kept in two Vermont abandoned mines this winter.

“We see this as very important research into understanding whether bat caves and mines infected with white-nose syndrome can transmit the disease to healthy bats, or if the disease is spread primarily from bat to bat,” said Vermont State Wildlife Biologist Scott Darling. “This will be critical in determining whether any potential treatment for the disease can be limited to the bats, or if we also must address the presence of the disease in their winter habitats.”

Scientists believe a fungus that thrives in cold, moist caves may be the likely cause of white-nose syndrome, named for the white fungus on the noses and wings of hibernating bats.

The experiment at bat hibernation sites in Bridgewater and Stockbridge, Vt is not aimed at curing the disease. But it is intended to test if infected mines will transmit the disease to healthy bats.

If the bats from Wisconsin survive the winter, it could prove that bats can be successfully reintroduced to caves that housed infected animals. It also could show whether the disease persists at hibernation sites even after infected bats are gone.

Entrances at the two caves are screened to keep the bats from leaving and gated to assure that the research can be conducted without being disturbed.

“We appreciate the assistance of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources that contributed some of their healthy bats to this research,” said Darling. “The work is potentially important because populations of bats in many northeastern states are being devastated by this disease.”

Source: Agency of Natural Resources
Last Updated at: October 29, 2009 16:15:35