The first confirmed case of a fatal bat disease has been found in Mammoth Cave National Park. White Nose Syndrome is a fungal disease that has killed millions of bats across North America. Nearly all infected bats die, and so far scientists haven’t been able to stop the spread of the fungus.
New tenants wanted: must be quiet during the day, must enjoy bugs. It might not sound like your kind of real estate, but then, you’re not a bat.
A new man-made cave near Clarksville is being built to give thousands of bats a safe haven from a devastating infection called white-nose syndrome; the experimental project may house bats’ best hope against the disease.
Since 2006, White Nose Syndrome has been decimating bat populations east of the Mississippi. Last month, the disease was found in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, and biologists expect it to spread further. Kentucky Public Radio’s Erica Peterson went with state researchers into a Meade County cave to see what’s being done to stop White Nose Syndrome.
