Bats: Not Just for Halloween

Bats suffer from an image problem in the United States.

In China they are a considered a symbol of happiness. Many valuable Chinese objects are festooned with beautiful images of bats.

Bat species in New York are all insect eaters and they prey on huge numbers of agricultural and forest pests every year. This helps us to reduce our dependence on toxic chemicals and perhaps appreciate our outdoor barbeques a little more. Despite their generally helpful nature, our appreciation for these flying mammals is for the most part underwhelming.

Especially now, our bats really need our appreciation and help. Six out of nine of our bat species are dying in record numbers. An affliction known as White Nose Syndrome (WNS) was first discovered about 30 miles west of Albany in the winter of 2006-2007. The syndrome has now spread to 14 states and three Canadian Provinces. It has a mortality rate of up to 95 percent.

Currently the syndrome is thought to be caused by the cold loving fungus Geomyces destructans. People cannot contract the fungus but may be able to spread it from cave to cave.

In July of 2006 NYSDEC mammologists counted 500 bats leaving the Jones Barn maternity colony at Five Rivers. In 2009 Five River’s staff and volunteers began helping WNS researchers by counting bats as they exit the Jones Barn for their evening insect forage. The lowest count was in 2009 when only 39 bats were observed, indicating about a 92% reduction of our bats in three years.

Staff and volunteers have conducted bat counts bi-weekly and are cautiously optimistic by a slight increase in numbers in the past two years. Five Rivers public programs during the summer offer an opportunity to learn more about bats and to help count them.