White-nose Syndrome

Washington state Washington state has an isolated case of WNS that appeared around March of 2016. The question is why? Ann Froschauer of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife States that white-nose syndrome can be inadvertently transferred to bats from humans by carrying spores on clothing, shoes or equipment. She also states that the fungus thrives in underground environments. While  USGS is unsure of how it could be transferred but ensures more research needs to be done. They state that this is the most serious wildlife disease recorded in the United States. I agree that more research needs to be done but it raises a lot of questions if the fungus thrives in underground environments how long does it really last on clothing or shoes? Where did the fungus come from? https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/119005 When bats venture out of their habitat they leave fungus on the places they have been allowing for other bats to pick it up. According to Invasive Species...

White-nose Syndrome was first recognized in the winter from 2006 to 2007. The bats were awakened out of hibernation with fungus growing on their nose. When the bats would fly from their home there would be no food source and extreme weather conditions for them. This lead to starvation and freezing. According to  whitenosesyndrome.org  “ WNS has killed more than 5.7 million bats in eastern North America.” Since 2006 the number of cases has grown to and started to spread westward. In the winter from 2016 to 2017 the fungus made it as far west as Texas and an isolated case in Washington state. Why is there such an isolated case?  Although not proven it is thought that a caver brought the fungus with them from another cave in the Eastern United States. It seems that the fungus is growing so quickly from bat to bat contact. https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/sites/default/files/wnsspreadmap_6_19_2017_0.jpg Bats are an import part of our ecosystem. Many of the bat...

In the caving community, white-nose syndrome has become something talked about more and more. But what is White-nose syndrome?  White-nose syndrome is a disease that has been affecting bats in caves or mines and killing them in large numbers. https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/sites/default/files/wns_bat_small.jpg I have been an avid caver for over ten years. Over the years I have noticed that caves that used to be recreational and open to the public are becoming closed with little to no access at all. My question is  should ALL recreational caves be closed due to White-nose syndrome?   When not going to local recreational caves I also like to explore caves in National parks like Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and Wind Cave in South Dakota. Since 2010 I have noticed that these national parks are becoming more concerned with White-nose Syndrome. Before you are permitted to enter any national park caves you are asked if you have visited another cav...