Bats are dying by the millions, and there’s no sure way to stop the plague of white-nose syndrome that could cause major ecological change and even extinctions, say biologists at Southern Connecticut State University. “About 7 million bats have died since its initial discovery in 2006” in the Howe Caverns west of Albany, New York, said Wisniewski. The little brown bat, which has been the most common species in some regions of Connecticut, “is now considered for the endangered-species list” in this state, he said.
White-nose syndrome has been confirmed in 26 states and five Canadian provinces, is suspected in two more states and is headed for the Rocky Mountains. However, Dunbar said, “We are considered to be in the hot spot … We are definitely in the epicenter of this disease.”