White-Nose Syndrome Found in More Ouachita, Ozarks Bats in Arkansas

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Posted June 10, 2015 6:19 am by Comments

By Vanessa Torres

Bats White Nose Syndrome
White-nose syndrome found in more Ouachita, Ozarks bats.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

Arkansas -(Ammoland.com)- More incidences of bats infected with white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease deadly to bats, have been found at several locations in the Ouachita Mountains and in the Ozark Mountains.

White-nose Syndrome has now been confirmed on bats in caves in Franklin and Searcy counties and the fungus associated with WNS has been found in mines in Garland and Polk counties.

The confirmation came after bats from a number of sites were tested by the National Wildlife Health Center and by the Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics at Northern Arizona University.
The fatal fungus was first confirmed in Arkansas in 2012. White-nose syndrome is believed to cause bats to use up their fat reserves rapidly during hibernation. Affected bats fly out of caves during winter in an attempt to find food. Since the insects bats eat are seasonally dormant, the bats die of starvation.
While the night creatures are often portrayed in a negative light, bats play a key role in keeping insects, including agricultural pests, mosquitoes, and forest pests under control, said Blake Sasse, Nongame Mammal/Furbearer Program …read more

Source:: AmmoLand

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