Fall Calls Bats to Hibernate, Scientists to Study Them

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120928084946.htm



Researcher holds little brown bats. (Credit: Michigan Technological University)

ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2012) — Despite the vampire stories you may have read, bats are our friends. The little winged mammals eat more than their body weight in insects every night, making them extremely valuable to farmers, forest managers and anyone who doesn't like bugs. In fact, the dollar value of bats in pest control has been estimated at $508 million a year.

Bats are the only mammals that can fly. There are more than 1,000 species. In fact, 1 in 5 mammals is a bat.

And in the fall, bats often migrate hundreds of miles to abandoned mines and caves where they hibernate through the winter months. Deep in the caverns, they cuddle up in tight, furry clusters, while scientists study them, trying to figure out the hows and whys of a bat plague called White Nose Syndrome and what, if anything, can be done to prevent or stop it.

White Nose Syndrome has killed nearly 7 million bats since it first appeared in the US in New York State. The deadly fungal disease has spread to 19 states as far west as Missouri, as far south as Alabama and north into Canada.