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Slide 2
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Slide 3
Courtesy John Chenger, Bat Conservation & Management, Inc.
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Slide 4
• A disease-like syndrome characterized by the presence of afungus, Geomyces destructans , that affects bats hibernating in caves
• First appeared in 2006• Has caused losses of up to 100% in northeastern
hibernacula• Over 1 million bats have died• At least 6 species, probably 9 ormore, are
affected• The largest disease issue to hit North American
wildlife in recorded history
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Slide 5
• Fungus visible on face, ears, or wings
• Hibernating bats clustering in unusual places
• Hibernating bats moving toward front of cave
• Bats moving on landscape when they should be hibernating
• Wing damage• Dead bats in caves or on landscape
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Slide 6
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• First seen in Schoharie , NY, area in winter 2006/2007
• By spring 2009
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Slide 9
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Slide 10
• Described by Blehert et al, 2009 at NWHC
• Named Geomyces destructans
• Considered novel in NA
• Now known to be
present on European
bats, but without
mortality events
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Slide 11
From: David Blehert, WNS: An Emerging Fungal Pathogen presentation, USGS National Wildlife Health Center
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Slide 12
• A number of projects are looking at treatment• Vinegar
– So far no real evidence it works
• Terbinafine– Tufts study in beginning stages– Small trial last year in NY
hibernacula, unsuccessful
• Rehab– 2006 project in NY = 50% survival– NJ work at NJBS
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Slide 13
• Hibernating bats are
immunosuppressed– Medication may not work
without a functioning immune
system
• Would have to treat huge
numbers of animals– Not all animals are accessible; may be in tight crevices;
may be too high to access; many hibernacula are unknown; bats often hibernate in huge aggregations
• Caves are ecologically complex; many other organisms depend on caves; can’t kill caves to save bats
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Slide 14
• Don’t know where most
bats go
• Don’t know how soon
fungus dies– Do know that bats groom
visible fungus off on arousal
• Don’t know how long bats
are infective
• Don’t know how/when they spread it
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Slide 15
• So far, no summer bats with active infection• Summer bats have had fungus DNA present when
wings are tested (DE, VA & OK), but it has not been established that those bats are able to pass fungus
• Fungal spores remain present in caves• Bats are reinfected when they return to affected
caves• Gd needs the cave climate to grow• Bats are the substrate for the fungus
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Slide 16
• Bats are very long lived (avg 10-20 years)
• Have very low reproductive rates (1-2 pups/year)
• Losses of up to 100% in NE hibernacula in just 4 years
• Don’t know critical population size• Reports of increased pup drops in
remaining maternity colonies; some are just gone
• Probably not enough time to develop a resistant population before too few are left to repopulate
• Boston U paper predicts NE little brown population extinct in 16 years
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Slide 17
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• Nonmigratory• Uses buildings summer and winter• Also uses caves and mines for
hibernation• Beetle eater• 16—20+ grams; 14 inch wingspan• 2 young per year born late
May early June• Lifespan 15—18 years
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• Often uses buildings or barns in summer
• Migrates to caves in winter—may move 200+ miles to reach appropriatehibernacula
• Forms large colonies• May roost with other myotis
species• 7—9 grams; 9 inch wingspan• One pup per year• Lifespan 30+ years
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Slide 20
• ENDANGERED• Uses building roosts, but
also associated with very old trees with sloughing bark
• Is known to roost with Little Brown Bats
• Same size and very similar appearance to Little Brown Bat
• Migrates to caves for winter; recovered over 200 miles from banding sites
Courtesy: John Chenger, Bat Conservation & Management, Inc.
Courtesy: NY DEC
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Slide 21
• Closely related to Indiana bats and Little Brown Bats
• Extremely long ears• May roost with other myotis
species or in small colonies of conspecifics
• Same size as Little Brown/Indiana Bats
• Migrates to caves for winter
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Slide 22
• Smallest bat in region• Distinctive black mask• Associated with scree and talus
slopes• Largest known hibernacula for
this species WERE in NY• Rare across range• 4—5 grams• Dependant on puddles and road
ruts for drinking water
Courtesy OrganCave.com
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Slide 23
• Formerly Eastern pipistrelle• Very small bat with reddish
brown fur and red forearms• Forms small maternity colonies in tree
hollows and sometimes under decks and in open lofts
• Has twins; pups are under 1 g at birth
• Migrates to caves for winter• Also killed at turbine sites
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Slide 24
• Considered highly migratory; found dead at wind turbines
• Not usually associated with buildings, but have been recovered from open sheds and garages during winter
• Some use caves in winter• Form small maternity colonies
in tree hollows in northeast or inhigher elevations in mid-Atlantic
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Slide 25
• Largest North American Bat• Migratory; may move from
Canada to Mexico• 30 + grams• 16” wingspan• Very distinctive coloration• Foliage bat; does not use
buildings• Not cave dependant, but highly impacted by wind
turbines
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Slide 26
• Highly migratory; common windturbine victims
• Foliage bat; does not use buildings or caves
• Solitary; raises young in tree foliage
• May mate on the wing• Often hit by cars• Prone to window strikes• Blue Jays prey on mothers with young
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Slide 27
• Gray bat (federally endangered)
• Southeastern myotis (one tested positive for WNS summer 2010)
• Northern yellow bat (tree bat)
• Seminole bat (tree bat)
• Evening bat (crevice dweller, but doesn’t use caves)
• Rafinesque’s big ear bat (not cave dependant)
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Slide 31
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•Policymakers•Agencies•Public health•Our community•Public
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• Summer work
– Find/monitor maternity colonies
– Develop safe, cleanable maternity
roosts (Kunz, experimental shed right)
– Promote exclusion and habitat
replacement for building-dwelling bats
– Banding studies: highly controversial, but recent research suggests particular designs and brands are less problematic
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Slide 34
• Bats are migratory! – Many species move 100s of miles and cross state lines
to move between summer home range and hibernacula
– Tree bats migrate along same flyways as songbirds & waterfowl
• Bats are declining drastically• Not every bat needs to be tested for rabies;
modernize local protocols• Mandate exclusion, not eradication• Allow rehab in WNS affected states
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Slide 35
• Respect and support cave closures
• Know where to find and share current decontaminationinformationhttp://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome
• Participate in monitoring projects such as the NH program www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife
• Help with outreach efforts and advocacy
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Slide 36
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Slide 37 • USFWS WNS page
– Latest info, maps, pictures, video, press releases– http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome/index.html
• National Wildlife Health Center– Technical info on disease and Gd fungus– http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/white-nose_syndrome/
• National Forest Service– Downloadable brochure– http://www.fs.fed.us/biology/resources/pubs/tes/wns-brochure8310.pdf
• The Save Lucy Campaign – Story of a little brown bat with activities, videos, etc.– www.saveLucytheBat.org
• Bat World Sanctuary– Rehab info, white nose info, kid’s activities– www.batworld.org
• Bat Conservation International– WNS info, species info, pictures, video, legislative info– www.batcon.org
• Bat Conservation & Management– Pictures, video, discussion forum– www.batmanagement.com
• National Speleological Society– Info, funding, cave ecology info– http://caves.org/WNS/index.htm
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Slide 38
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• Reports of large pup drops in the northeast
• Very few pups reported by BW rescue centers
• State agencies will probably be supportive of referring pups
• Animal control seems to be getting more enlightened in some areas
• Pups cannot be left out in the hopes a mother will return. Unless the colony is visible, reunion is a very, very long shot. Pups that have wandered are looking for mom—she’s probably no longer around.
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Slide 40
• BWS formula with added protein seems to work, but needs lots more feedbackhttp://www.batworld.org/worldbatline/pdf_files/Chapter%2
09.pdf
• Little browns learn to lap very early
• Prone to hair loss andvery slow development of ears and wingtips if proteinis lacking
• Must be group reared
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Slide 41
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Slide 42
• Winter WNS affected– CAN BE REHABBED!!– Rehab is/is not allowed by state authority—please check first– These bats have usually been out on the landscape in
subfreezing conditions—they are hypothermic, emaciated, damaged by WNS and possibly frostbitten.
– Critical care situation; quarantine and have a clean room ready– Emaciation & dehydration must be corrected. May require subQ
injections daily and multiple small meals for 24--48 hours once hydration is corrected
– Emollients on wing membranes may be helpful– Wing damage will usually correct itself with supportive care, but
make sure bats are kept warm and fully awake– High humidity levels are essential– Do not attempt to reinitiate torpor—keep the immune system
up and functional– Gd is a cold loving fungus, keep those bats warm!
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Slide 43
Winston & Friends
WNS survivors at New Jersey Bat Sanctuary
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Slide 44
• SubQ LRS; ~10% of body weight but can go higher; repeat when bleb is absorbed. According to Jackie Kashmer, may need to repeat hourly or more frequently with WNS bats
• Wing damage means WNS bats cannot maintain water balance without help
• LRS PO
• Pedialyte or equivalent PO
• Do not feed until you see urination-refeeding protocols apply to bats!!
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Slide 45
• Emaciated animals need supportive diets
• Can use Vital HN for a meal or two; watch for diarrhea—seems to correct itself when chitin is introduced
• Clinicare is looking promising
• Switch to blended diet; then to whole mealworms or MW viscera
• It is not necessary to stuff mealworms, Nutrical, A/D, or canned cat food into them right away
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Slide 46
How not to feed a bat How to feed a bat
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Slide 47
• Treat with kitten strength revolution or Frontline plus
• 1 tiny drop from 27 ga needle
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Slide 48 • Quite common to see hair loss
and hardening of dermis over wing membranes, ear tips, and digits during winter
• Often results in loss of digits• Keep humidity high• Rub flax oil into hardened membranes; treat with
antibiotics for secondary skin infections; boost dietary EFAs; give warm water baths with cotton swabs
• Try rubbing triple AB ophthalmicointment into skin of digits—seemed to work better than regular ointment
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Slide 49
• Summer
– Who the heck knows??
– Try to keep bats from known populations & home ranges together
– Absolutely no mixing of tree bats and cave-dependant crevice bats; preferably move one or the other to a dedicated facility
– Talk with your state agency about wing biopsies or other diagnostics that may be helpful
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Slide 50
– We have successfully used a valium/ketamine cocktail delivered PO with tree bats to keep heart rate and body temp up during surgery
– Bats that drop into deep torpor (go cold, stop breathing) during surgery can be revived using needle acupressure to the rostrum and wing pumps
– Dilute bupivicaine applied post op seems to work well as a nerve block at surgical sites
– We have seen suture reactions with big browns quite often. Soft Vicryl seems to be tolerated better
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Slide 51
• They heal!!
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Slide 52
• You can do it!• Slice skin from throat down to
genitals• Free skin from abdominal wall—
check fat stores• Cut though abdominal wall from sternum
to genitals• Blocked or full bladders will be right there• Liver is just under rib cage-look for
speckles of white or yellow fat; use pick ups to tease liver into view
• Use scissors to cut rib cage and separate to see heart and lungs
• Move intestines to see spleen, gall bladder, kidneys, whatever else is in there
• At this point I usually have soup and goo• Trim any tissues; place in formalin• Pray for funding for histo
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Slide 53
• Cornell seems willing (not free)
• Zoo & Exotic Pathology Services (not free)
• National Wildlife Health Center only takes samples if submitted by state agency
• Tufts has seemed reluctant; but that may be for lack of a submission mechanism or funding
• Whatever your results, share, share, share
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Slide 54
• WCV & NYSWRC for inviting me to talk about bats!!• Bat World Sanctuary for mentoring and support for 10 years• The board, volunteers and contributors, including two bad cats, of the Save Lucy
Campaign• USFWS for being willing to listen and for the photos & video from the WNS page• Dr Anne Hiss for at least 20 hours of surgical & veterinary care of a single bat in the
last few weeks and for hundreds of pro-bono procedures and heartfelt friendship• Bat Conservation & Management for video and professional support for at last 5
years• Rich Sturges for being willing to take amazing photos whenever I yell ‘bring your
camera’• The rehabbers who populate WorldBatLine and who have taught me so much over
the years• Lois Auer, who has given art and beauty to Bat World NOVA and Save Lucy out of
care and generosity—buy a print!!• Meredith Hall-Weberg for the cave pic, from a real caver!And• The bats, always, and, hopefully, forever
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Slide 55
No, seriously, thank you
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