> From: jennifer <bigredfo...@yahoo.com> > Date: February 1, 2011 6:27:04 PM CST > To: <nmbat_working_gr...@googlegroups.com>, <s...@caver.net> > Subject: [SWR] WNS confirmed in Indiana > > Here's the press release - just out: > DNR NEWS > > Indiana Department of Natural Resources > 402 W. Washington St. W255 B > Indianapolis, IN 46204-2748 > Phone: (317) 232-4200 > > For immediate release: Feb. 1, 2011 > > Bat tests positive for white-nosed fungus > > The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife > Service have received confirmation that a bat found in a southern Indiana cave > has tested positive for the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. The case > is > the state’s first for the WNS fungus, believed to be responsible for the > deaths > of more than one million bats in the eastern United States. > > Researchers doing biennial bat counts at Endless Cave in Washington County > discovered two little brown bats on Jan. 23 that exhibited the white fungus > characteristic of WNS. One of the bats was euthanized and sent to the U.S. > Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, > which > later confirmed the presence of the WNS-associated fungus. > > Additional bats with signs of WNS were discovered during routine bat count > surveys at other caves. > > “We knew WNS was likely to reach Indiana caves this year, and we have been > working closely with biologists from the DNR to prepare for this as well as we > could,” said Tom Melius, the Service’s Midwest Regional Director. > “Nonetheless, > it is devastating to actually confirm the presence of the fungus and witness > the > symptoms of WNS in bats. While there is currently no cure and no treatment for > this disease, we will put all our energies into contributing to the ongoing > efforts to understand and combat WNS.” > > The fungus has been discovered in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, > Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, > Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and the provinces of > Ontario and Quebec, Canada. > > Researchers associate WNS with a newly identified fungus, Geomyces > destructans, > which thrives in the cold and humid conditions characteristic of caves and > mines > used by hibernating bats. > > Experts believe WNS is transmitted primarily from bat to bat, but they also > caution it may be transmitted by humans inadvertently carrying fungal spores > from cave to cave on their clothing and caving gear. > > The DNR closed public access to all caves on state-managed properties two > years > ago, including Endless Cave in the Cave River Valley Natural Area managed by > the > DNR Division of State Parks & Reservoirs as part of Spring Mill State Park. > > “We will continue to keep all of our caves closed, and we are urging private > cave owners to either not allow access to their caves or require visitors to > follow USFWS decontamination procedures,” DNR deputy director John Davis said. > “The whole effort is to slow the spread and have movement of the disease not > be > exacerbated by human interference.” > > Physical signs associated with WNS are a white fungus on the bat’s nose, > wings, > ears or tail membrane. Bats afflicted with WNS often exhibit unusual behavior > in > winter, including clustering near hibernacula entrances. Affected bats also > may > leave their hibernacula during the day and may be observed flying or clinging > to > rocks outside or on nearby buildings. Dead or dying bats are often found on > the > ground near affected areas. > > For more information about white-nose syndrome, > visit www.dnr.in.gov/batdisease and www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome > > -30- > > Media contact: Phil Bloom, DNR Division of Communications, 317-232-4003 > or pbl...@dnr.in.gov > > Georgia Parham, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 812-334-4261 x 1203 > or georgia_par...@fws.gov > > > > > _______________________________________________ > SWR mailing list > s...@caver.net > http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net
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