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Article: In cold blood: a mysterious disease threatens to wipe out America's bats.
- Article from:
- National Parks
- Article date:
- June 22, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 National Parks Conservation Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The killer crept in quietly while the victims were sleeping, all huddled together in little brown clumps in a cave in Albany, New York. First, a small, white ring of fungus appeared around the noses of several species, including Myotis lucifugus--commonly called little brown bats. Soon they became emaciated. And then, one by one, they began dying, their tiny winged carcasses piling up on the floor. What was once a safe and reliable shelter for thousands of bats quickly turned into an eerie grave.
More than 8,000 bats died in the Northeast in the winter of 2006. Since then, the mysterious disease--called white nose syndrome--has ...