A disease that has already ravaged parts of the North American bat population has been discovered in another southern Kentucky cave. Researchers found bats with White Nose Syndrome in a dozen tri-colored bats living in the WKU-owned Crumps Cave in Warren County.
The fungus that causes the disease forces bats out of their winter hibernation and out into the freezing elements, leading them to waste energy and fluids necessary for their survival.
WKU Hydro-Geology Professor Chris Groves said while programs are in place to make sure humans don’t carry the fungus out of caves, little is known about how to prevent bats from infecting other bats.
“It’s clear that bats are likely carrying among themselves to their colleagues. And, just in terms of any kind of treatment there’s just nothing that we know about so far.”
One of the few proactive steps biologists have been able to take is the decontamination of footwear and equipment brought out of caves by researchers and tourists. Groves said there’s no known cure for White Nose Syndrome.
“There’s bats that prior to the discovery of White Nose were doing just fine, had very healthy populations and now are potentially in some danger of extinction.”
White Nose Syndrome does not affect humans. The disease was discovered in Mammoth Cave National Park in 2013, and some bat species in the park have declined by 80-percent since then.
