Monday 2 May 2011

Nearly 10,000 bats die in Durham cave

Courtesy of Pennsylvania Game Commission
Pennsylvania Game Commission biologists photographed
these bats hibernating in the Durham mine in September, 2010.
Posted: Friday, April 29, 2011 4:54 pm | Updated: 9:10 am, Sat Apr 30, 2011.

By Amanda Cregan Calkins Media, Inc.

Of the 10,000 bats that have hibernated in an abandoned mine in Upper Bucks County for generations, only about 200 are still alive, officials said Friday.

Durham's bats became infected with White Nose Syndrome, a mysterious disease that's killing off bat colonies at an alarming rate from Vermont to Virginia.

In late March, Game Commission biologist Greg Turner checked in on the bats hidden in the hillside of Upper Bucks and found near devastation.

"We're looking at a 99 percent decline," he said.

And the bat deaths might continue.

"There's a few survivors. Hopefully, the ones that are there will survive."

http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/new_hope/nearly-bats-die-in-durham-cave/article_9b553884-72a3-11e0-bb2c-0019bb30f31a.html

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