The Student News Site of Orono High School

The Spartan Speaks

The Student News Site of Orono High School

The Spartan Speaks

The Student News Site of Orono High School

The Spartan Speaks

Deadly fungus is killing bats

Bri Shekels
Student Life Editor

A fungus discovered in bat species across the country is beginning to wipe them out. The fungus is causing the bats to wake up early from hibernation and venture out into the cold where they either die from starvation or predators.

The fungus, White-Nose syndrome or WNS, consists of white specks on bats’ wings and white powder on the bats’ noses. According to National Geographic, “White fuzz on the snout, which looks like rime on the beard of a skier, is a signal that the bat may be infected.” The fungus has killed up to 2 million bats from eastern Canada to Tennessee and shows no signs of stopping.

“Whatever is going on, it is evil, like the black plague. Birds are now ripping the bats apart…like something from the Book of Revelation.” said one Internet forum. WNS could result with the greatest loss of a population since the extinction of the passenger pigeon.

Bat species are 25% of the worlds mammal population and if they decrease significantly in size, it could harm not only other animals, but humans as well. One bat can eat 600 insects per night. All the bats that were killed in 2009 combined can eat 693 tractor trailers filled with bugs. Those bugs spread disease, destroy crops and require pesticides to kill them.

Researchers are attempting to find a cure that will not harm other life in the caves. “Microorganisms are at the bottom of the web of life…Whip that rug out and the whole ecosystem falls apart,” said Northern Kentucky University’s scientist Hazel Barton.

Scientists are still unsure as to how the fungus kills the bats. Some microbiologists believe the fungus is “characterized specifically targeting a hibernating animal” said microbiologist David S. Blehert.  Although there is no cure for the killer fungus, researchers are still searching.

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