DISEASE THREATENS BATS
Monday, September 20th, 2010 -- 11:22 AM
The state Department of Natural Resources is tracking bats across the state for evidence of a new disease that has reduced the bat population in at least 14 states.DNR biologists are checking bats throughout the state for signs of white-nose syndrome, which has decimated the bat population in the northeastern U.S.
The DNR is trying to identify sites where bats gather in order to establish a base population and better determine if the disease has surfaced here.
DNR bat researcher Dave Redell tells the La Crosse Tribune he suspects the disease has already made its way to Wisconsin. Redell says it may be one reason mosquitoes were so plentiful this summer, because one little brown bat can eat about 600 mosquitoes an hour.
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