Bat disease has state considering closing caves By MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday, March 31, 2009 A disease is heading toward Georgia, and state officials say they may close caves to stymie its arrival. Yes, caves. The disease is white nose syndrome, and it has decimated bat populations in eight states from New Hampshire to West Virginia. If unchecked, it could reach Georgia, home to 16 species of bats. Enlarge this image U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service White nose disease can be fatal to bats but is not harmful to humans. It’s such a mystery that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has urged cave explorers to stay away from caves in those states, plus those in adjacent states. The disease is apparently not harmful to humans, but scientists don’t know if cavers help transfer the disease from one site to the next, said Diana Weaver, a spokeswoman for the agency. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources might follow the agency’s suggestion and close caves on state property, said DNR biologist Katrina Morris. The state is home to about 600 caves, most of them located in Georgia’s northwestern tip. One, Frick’s Cave in Walker County, hosts about 10,000 hibernating gray bats. An estimated 500 are on private property, while 100 are in state parks and other public sites. “We don’t have white nose syndrome yet,” Morris said. “But we may consider closing them.” A caver discovered the disease=2 0in New York in January 2006 when he took photos of some hibernating brown bats whose noses had turned white. He shared those images with scientists nearly a year later when word spread that something was killing bat populations. It causes hibernating bats to lose their fat reserves, crucial for the tiny, winged creatures to survive until spring. Scientists estimate its mortality rate at nearly 100 percent. Bats, Morris said, are insatiable insect-eaters; on a spring or summer night, a hungry bat can usually eat its weight in bugs. “We really need bats,” she said. Caving enthusiasts, meantime, hope the scientists will be able to eradicate whatever is killing the bats. If the state wants to close caves, said caving enthusiast Kris Green, he’ll hang up his caving equipment until further notice. “It might be one of those processes of nature” in which a fungus sweeps through a species, regardless of what humans do, said Green. “But you can’t sit back and do nothing.” http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/03/31/white_nose_bat_cave.html
