Friday, April 18th, 2008

Bat Die-Off Mystery

Bats across the northeastern United States are dying and no one knows why. We visit an abandoned mine in upstate New York, one of the largest bat hibernation spots in the Northeast, with several bat researchers looking for clues. (Credits: Music by SYNTHAR - www.synthar.com. Images courtesy of FWS, Al Hicks, NY Department of Environmental Conservation. Filmed and Produced by Flora Lichtman) See More Videos

Wildlife experts are trying to determine what's causing hibernating bats in the Northeast to die en masse. The condition has been dubbed 'white-nose syndrome,' after a white fungus seen on bats' noses -- but scientists aren't sure if the fungus is causing the deaths, or is just a symptom indicating the presence of some other disease. So far, white-nose syndrome has been identified in bat caves in New York, southwest Vermont, northwest Connecticut and western Massachusetts. Tens of thousands of bats have died. Little brown bats, Indiana bats, northern long-eared, eastern pipistrelle, small-footed and other bat species have all been affected.

Some experts are likening the situation to that of the unexplained declines in honeybee populations due to 'colony collapse disorder.' Bat researchers are racing to explain the deaths -- and keep the disease from spreading -- but they're hampered by few clues and a lack of funds for the type of fast-paced interdisciplinary research needed. We'll talk with scientists studying the bat White Nose Syndrome.