Please Save our Bat population! Let me know what you think!

[Diryavi]

I'm really concerned that we are losing our bat population In the Northeastern states in the US. There is a story in my newspaper about bats that are dying because of this syndrome called white nose. If we don't stop this now, we might lose all of our bats and we will have huge loads of nasty bugs! Bats help keep the bug population down. Allot of people have a misconception about these wonderful creatures because of folklore and myth. We need to educate everyone so we can understand these creatures better! Then maybe we won't be so afraid of them and learn to enjoy them. Please read then lets talk and maybe we can help!
Here is the story out of my newspaper

This story is by Andrew white a staff writer from The Telegraph (Nashua)
this is filed under wildlife.

"Disease Taking a Toll on state's bat population

Researchers have no answers as to what's causing deadly white nose syndrome.

New Hampshire's bats are back but their ranks have been ravaged by disease that has devastated bat populations elsewhere in the Northeast, a researcher and state wildlife official said.

New Hampshire's bat population hasn't been hard-hit by white nose syndrome as those in Vermont and New York, but the losses are noticeable, said bat researchers Scott Reynolds of North East Ecological Services, and Emily Brunkhurst a New Hampshire Fish and Game biologist.

"They are back," Brunkhurst said. "We have gotten some calls from some people....who traditionally had them, and the numbers are lower. Significantly lower in some cases, missing in others. I have gotten calls from from people who say 'I've had bats for years, and I don't now.'"

Bats that return to the state also have been in poor health compared with past years, and fewer are reproducing, Reynolds said.
"I think we're on the front end of something that's just going to be getting worse in the next few years," Reynolds said, adding later"If the numbers are down and reproduction is down,the big impact will be next year....This may be the front edge of the storm."
Researchers have a few clues, but no solution, to the mystery of what causes white nose syndrome, named for a fungus that appears around the snouts of affected bats during hibernation. The disease seems to cause bats to burn through their body fat reserves too quickly during hibernation, leading to starvation and dehydration experts said.

white nose syndrome has hit hardest among little brown bats, one of the most common species, known for it's voracious consumption of mosquitoes. A little brown bat eats about half it's weight or about 4,000 mosquitoes, every night-and what's bad for the predator typically is good for the prey.
"If in fact we have 500,000 fewer bats in the landscape this year that adds up to 2 billion insects that are not eaten each night," Vermont Fish and Game bat biologist Scott Darling said.
The scoop of white nose syndrome has been compared to Colony Collapse Disorder, which has decimating North American honeybees, and its cause has remained similarly elusive.
Experts from around the United States and Canada gathered last month in
Albany N.Y., to share information on the disease and try to coordinate strategies for dealing with it.
"Take-home messages were essentially that this is an unprecedented mortality event this past winter," Reynolds said. White nose syndrome was first Identified in New York during the winter of 2006-07.Last winter, Reynolds said, some some affected hibernating populations had been wiped out.

"Some sites have 90 percent loss," Reynolds said."others have as little as 80 percent loss, but it's all of that order."
Researchers simply don't know how far the disease may spread or how bad the impact might be, and they've been wary of predictions, mainly for fear that their estimates would sound incredible, Reynolds said.
"The reductions are overwhelming," Reynolds said "Because the numbers are so big, they are sensitive that if their counting methods are not accurate, it's going to be seen as alarmist.
"we do know we've never seen anything like this. We know the numbers are huge, but we don't know what the numbers are."
Reynolds has been studying bats for 15 years, focusing on a summer breeding colony in Perterborough, which draws bats from all around the regions affected by white nose syndrome.
New Hampshire bats generally hibernate elsewhere, as the state has few caves or mines suitable for winter hibernation. That colony typically includes from 1,500-2,000 bats, and the population this summer is down by about 25 percent a-drop well beyond the normal swings he said.
Reynolds said he has tagged some 4,000 bats from Peterborough colony over the years, and many of his tagged bats have been found dead of white nose syndrome in hibernation in Vermont and New York.
"It's only a matter of time before full impact is felt by this colony," he said.
Beyond the population drop, Reynolds and other experts said, bats that survived the winter don't seem to be healthy as usual.Many bats have visible
damage to their wings, including scare tissue, tears and holes, apparently caused by dehydration during hibernation, Reynolds Reynolds and Darling said, and some still seem to be carrying the telltale sign of the white fungus."

This is part one
I will put up the remaining story on my next visit to my thread. Along with it I will post some websites for you to learn about this syndrome that is hitting our bat colony, and what to do. It may not have happened in your country/state yet, but it might sooner or later. I just want people to be aware of what is happing now at this time.

Please feel free to pm me too. I don't know too much about this right now just from this alarming story I'm sharing with you. But I will try to get some more facts for you guys. And if any one else knows more please post! I want people to be aware of this so maybe they can try to help stop this syndrome that is affecting the bats!

We need to save our bats!

[kingAndres]

lol at first i thought and said white nose do they do drugs? lol
no but seariosly we should do something i mean wev lost animals b4 and we should b smart enough to keep the ones we have alive if i was an animal [i think humans count as animals] i woundent want to b extinct we should start making a cure for the white nose or know how to control its effects.

[Diryavi]

Originally Posted by kingAndres

lol at first i thought and said white nose do they do drugs? lol
no but seariosly we should do something i mean wev lost animals b4 and we should b smart enough to keep the ones we have alive if i was an animal [i think humans count as animals] i woundent want to b extinct we should start making a cure for the white nose or know how to control its effects.

Yes we should, And thank you for taking the time to read this!
go to www.fsw.gov/northeast/wns2.html too see a video presentation on the white nose syndrome by Susi von Oettingen of Concord.

[kingAndres]

kk ill watch it and ill see if i can find some more documents on the white nose this is the first time i heard of it

[kingAndres]

i looked up WNS but were it comes from is just a guess they say it has something to do with a fungus do to many bat's death but i think b4 anything we should do a real investigation on WNS[white nose syndrome]

[ivi0nk3y]

Shikaka!!!

Seriously though, i'd be the first one to try and help any animal or thing in danger.. but how do you expect people all over the world to save your Bat populace o.O

[EveV]

The only way we can help animals is to be more environmental friendly.
We could also breed captive bats at a heavy rate to increase the population.

Originally Posted by ivi0nk3y

Shikaka!!!

LOLOLOL

[TalnSG]

Originally Posted by EveV

The only way we can help animals is to be more environmental friendly.
We could also breed captive bats at a heavy rate to increase the population.

I think they tried that when the mexican bat population in the Texas Hill Country was waning, and it didn't go very well. Not sure whether it was the captivity in general that caused more problems or just that they wouldn't breed in those conditions.

But Eve's right, the environmental factors are critical - especially with bats.
There are only 3 major things that most people can do to promote the bat population:
(1) clean up the environment,
(2) educate yourself and others not to disturb any living colonies,
(3) put up bat houses if you have any in the area. They won't always use them, but if they do they will usually stay. And if not, you have been out that much effort or expense.

There is a good organization to learn more and assist.....
Bat Conservation International
I've been a member ever since their logo was the doubled chinese calligraphy for bats, back inthe mid 1980s.

[Diryavi]

Originally Posted by ivi0nk3y

Shikaka!!!

Seriously though, i'd be the first one to try and help any animal or thing in danger.. but how do you expect people all over the world to save your Bat populace o.O

I don't expect people to save them from around the world but I want people to be aware that this is happing and if the scientist can't figure out the cure or why this is happening, then it might spread and the population might go down drastically. We need these creatures I would love to save all of them but I know no matter how hard I try to save them it might not be enough. I just want to try to educate and stop the fear of bats because they get such a bad wrap even snakes and if we loose the bats we will be over run by bugs. I'm doing this because I love bats and enjoy what they do for us.

[Diryavi]

Originally Posted by kingAndres

i looked up WNS but were it comes from is just a guess they say it has something to do with a fungus do to many bat's death but i think b4 anything we should do a real investigation on WNS[white nose syndrome]

Good Idea thanks for being aware, If more people become aware then we can try to help the researchers then this hopefully won't spread to other countries. I will be going to my library so I can try to find some books on bats and see if I can look into the WNS more I will post what I find and some websites, and more facts so people won't fear these wonderful creatures. If you find anything facts or anything that would help, Post it here. you can also pm me...

I hope to hear from you, I feel like a chicken with it's head cut off I hope I don't sound like a crazy woman... Maybe I will try to find an organization that will except donations that will help scientist find a cure and to know more about this syndrome, and this won't spread to other populations...