Some locals suspect a deadly ailment may be affecting the bat population in Schuylkill County.
“I haven’t seen a lot of bats this year and that concerns me,” Patrick M. “Porcupine Pat” McKinney, education coordinator for the Schuylkill Conservation District said Tuesday. “People are telling me they aren’t seeing that many bats and in my opinion — and I’m just speculating — the white-nose fungus is the reason.”
“White nose has not been found in Pennsylvania,” Morgan said Tuesday. “We have been doing cave surveys and have not found white-nose.”
Morgan said he has heard nothing from the game commission’s bat biologists concerning a decline in the bat population.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reported white-nose syndrome present in at least 18 caves and mines in the three affected states.
The problem has been reported in New York, Vermont and Massachusetts, and researchers now think the fungus is not a primary cause of the die-offs, but a symptom of a larger, unidentified problem. Until the cause is identified, little can be done to counter it.
White-nose syndrome seems to spread from cave to cave, although the fungus might show up when bats are already weakened. The bats may be going into hibernation without enough fat due to fewer moths or other insects to feed on.
http://www.republicanherald.com/art...an.20080725.a.pg3.pr25bats_s1.1828108_loc.txt
This last line here Reminds me.
I thought about it the other day.
I havn't been bothered by Gnats this year.
They are Usually all over in my face while Hunting.
Anyone else niotice this ?
“I haven’t seen a lot of bats this year and that concerns me,” Patrick M. “Porcupine Pat” McKinney, education coordinator for the Schuylkill Conservation District said Tuesday. “People are telling me they aren’t seeing that many bats and in my opinion — and I’m just speculating — the white-nose fungus is the reason.”
“White nose has not been found in Pennsylvania,” Morgan said Tuesday. “We have been doing cave surveys and have not found white-nose.”
Morgan said he has heard nothing from the game commission’s bat biologists concerning a decline in the bat population.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reported white-nose syndrome present in at least 18 caves and mines in the three affected states.
The problem has been reported in New York, Vermont and Massachusetts, and researchers now think the fungus is not a primary cause of the die-offs, but a symptom of a larger, unidentified problem. Until the cause is identified, little can be done to counter it.
White-nose syndrome seems to spread from cave to cave, although the fungus might show up when bats are already weakened. The bats may be going into hibernation without enough fat due to fewer moths or other insects to feed on.
http://www.republicanherald.com/art...an.20080725.a.pg3.pr25bats_s1.1828108_loc.txt
This last line here Reminds me.
I thought about it the other day.
I havn't been bothered by Gnats this year.
They are Usually all over in my face while Hunting.
Anyone else niotice this ?
