White Nose Syndrome spreads in WV bats

The presence of the disease was confirmed in West Virginia about three years ago. Since then Division of Natural Resources Biologist Craig Stihler has been tracking its progress.

This winter the DNR surveyed four caves in Tucker, Pendleton, Randolph and Monroe counties to determine whether the disease is present.

Stihler said the two species most affected are the Little Brown Bat and the Tri-colored, which was formerly called Eastern Pipistrelle.

“These are widespread bats, very common in our caves in the wintertime. They’re being hit very hard,” Stihler said. “In caves where we’ve had White Nose for two winters we’re seeing 93 percent decline of those two species, so in two years we’re losing 93 percent of those bats.”

But there is good news. Stihler said the endangered Indiana Bat has not been hit as hard and the rarest bat in the region, the Virginia Big-eared, doesn’t seem to be affected by the disease.

“We have Big-eared Bats in caves in the winter time and we have summer maternity colonies where the females gather to raise their young in caves,” Stihler said. “And we track both winter and summer populations and this past summer we had the highest count on record for those colonies.”

Stihler said if scientists can figure out why the Big-eared Bat doesn’t catch White Nose Syndrome it might provide clues for helping the other species.

White Nose Syndrome gets its name because the main symptom is a white fungus that grows on the bats’ faces. Stihler said the DNR is working with several universities that are conducting studies on the disease.

White Nose Syndrome was first discovered in the United States in New York State in 2006 and Stihler said some bats in that state are now surviving the disease, showing less severe symptoms and reproducing.

“So I think the hope for West Virginia bats is that we’re going to have individuals survive,” he said. “They might be resistant to the fungus; they might just be extremely robust individuals that can handle the stress. But we’re hoping that we see bats surviving White Nose.”

In West Virginia disease has been found as far west as the Fayette Kanawha County line and as far south as Mercer County.

Click on the link to hear an interview with Stihler.