Enjoying an Indiana evening wouldn’t be complete without seeing some of the aerial antics of our local bats. From the time I was a child, I’ve always marveled at their ability to snatch insects from the sky using their built-in “radar.” Watching the bats sweeping under the streetlights and whizzing by the porch in pursuit of their nightly prey is always entertaining.

Now it seems the future of Indiana bats, as wells as the future of all bats in North America, is uncertain. A deadly fungus, first appearing in bat caves and bat hibernating areas on the East Coast, has spread to Indiana.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have received confirmation that a bat found in a southern Indiana cave has tested positive for the fungus causing White-Nose Syndrome (WNS). 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 exhibiting 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, Wis., 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, FWS 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. Many government-owned or -controlled caves were closed to spelunkers, and the FWS requested cavers to thoroughly clean all equipment, footwear and clothes or buy all new equipment and apparel before exploring another cave location.

Indiana’s 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 and 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 FWS 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.

It is thought the fungus disrupts the bat’s hibernating process, causing bats to awaken and leave their area of hibernation to seek food long before it is available. Burning precious fat reserves in the cold soon leaves the bat starving to death and too weak to survive until warm weather.

For more information about WNS, visit www.dnr.in.gov/batdisease and www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome

Unless bat populations develop immunity to WNS or a vaccination process is discovered, dusk on Indiana summer nights may be far less entertaining and far less comfortable, as mosquitoes and pesky night-flying insects go unchecked.

DNR at Indy Boat Sport and Travel Show

The Indiana DNR have had a strong presence at the 57th Indianapolis Boat, Sport and Travel Show and the 14th Indiana Deer, Turkey and Waterfowl Expo that opened Feb. 18 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Both shows are presented by Renfro Productions.

The Deer, Turkey and Waterfowl Expo ended Sunday, but the main show continues through Feb. 27. Check www.renfroproductions.com for complete details about show hours, special features, seminars and ticket prices.
The DNR’s primary location during the Boat, Sport and Travel Show is Tackle Town in the Blue Ribbon Pavilion, where staff is on hand to provide information about DNR programs and events. The booth offers a convenient one-stop shopping opportunity for licenses, state park passes, lake use permits, Outdoor Indiana magazine, Sportsman’s Benevolence Fund pins and Turn-In-A-Poacher hats and pins.

The Indiana Conservation Officers Organization are selling raffle tickets for an ATV, with proceeds going to the Karl E. Kelley Memorial Youth Camp. DNR interpretive naturalists will have special presentations Feb. 27 with birds of prey and Feb. 26 showcasing a collection of snakes native to Indiana.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife has information regarding deer, wild turkeys, waterfowl and small game on display at booths 203 and 204. Staff biologists are on hand to discuss wildlife habitat development and management, hunting and trapping seasons and wildlife species information, and to answer questions.
The Division of Law Enforcement’s outdoor education section will be in booths 249-251 and 325. Visitors will be able to try the Laser Shot simulated shooting system with images of realistic hunting scenarios. Visitors also can pick up information on hunter education classes, Indiana’s Archery in the Schools Program, 4-H Shooting Sports, Becoming an Outdoors-Woman Workshop, Karl E. Kelley Memorial Conservation Officers Youth Camp, and the C.O. Mollenhour Conservation Camp.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Jack Spaulding may contact him by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.