Flintlock1776 Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 http://www.1010wins.com/Fungus-Kills-Off-90--of-New-Jersey-Bat-Population/6722899 I was just going to hang a big bat box on my property too. I hope it takes, they help hold down the mosquito population and are nice to see flying overhead at my place at dusk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 That's bad. I've been watching reports on white-nose for a few years. Bad enough to lose so many bats, then there's also issues with bee populations and frogs too. Not good at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goinghuntin Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 We got enough of them in the warehouse where I work Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 I wonder whats causing that mold ( the fungus, called white-nose syndrome) ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 I see white-nose as a grand opportunity for an increase in the purple martin population. Bats are a major P.I.A. to have around as far as the guano (and to an extent, rabies) factor goes. I wouldn't miss them a bit. Purple martins are much prettier, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 Send your bats this way Don, I'll send the martins your way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bug House Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 This has been big news here in the northeast the past few years. The largest bat hibernaculum in the Northeast US is here in Vermont, Aeolus Cave. F&W biologists estimate that 90% of its bats population has been decimated. Vermont Fish and Wildlife biologist Scott Darling describes the scene at the large Aeolus Cave in Dorset. "The first thing you notice is the smell of dead animals-they are beginning to decompose. And you'll see basically large piles of dead bats. I would estimate between 10 and 20 thousand dead bats on the cave floor." The US Forest Service estimates that 2.4 million pounds of insects will go uneaten as a result of the dieoff. Some biologists are suggesting this may lead to huge crop losses and increased pesticide use, I can't help but think of this a new food source for other wildlife, like Strut posted. Either way, this rapidly spreading infliction coupled with a very slow reproductive rate it seems alost certain that some speicies will become extinct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 Got bats and martins here. Seeing the little brown bats right at dark just like always. Never heard that about the fungus killing bats before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flintlock1776 Posted April 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 I hope they find the cause and a cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.