March 31, 2009
Fungus threatens bats, shuts some caves
Caving enthusiasts urged to stay away
By James Bruggers
jbruggers@courier-journal.com
From Maine to North Carolina to Kentucky, people are being asked to stay out of
caves where bats hibernate, in an effort to slow the spread of a disease that’s killed
half a million of nature’s only flying mammals in just over two years.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes “white-nose syndrome,” a fungus that
causes bats to come out of hibernation early, as a “wildlife crisis of unprecedented
proportions” — and says entire populations or species could be lost.
The agency issued an advisory late last week asking people to stay out of caves
where bats hibernate in nine states where the disease has been found — Vermont,
New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia — as well as four neighboring states, where
it has yet to show up: Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and North Carolina.
The white-nose syndrome fatalities were first recorded near Albany, N.Y., in the
winter of 2006-07, said Steve Thomas, an ecologist with the National Park Service
based at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.
“It’s amazing how fast it’s moved south,” he said. “It’s devastating to the bats.”
Though the advisory does not apply to commercial caves, such as the national
park’s Mammoth Cave, Fish and Wildlife officials would not rule out some future
restrictions at commercial caves.
And Thomas said National Park Service officials are “very concerned” about the
disease.
In caves where the syndrome has been found, 95 percent to 100 percent of bats
have died, said Diana Weaver, a spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Service.
While the disease appears to spread from bat to bat, people who crawl into caves for
recreation or exploration may be inadvertently carrying it from one cave to another,
she said. Cavers who continue to go into caves are asked to follow strict guidelines
on clothing and equipment, she added.
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The disease’s overall impact on the environment isn’t clear. But, “bats are voracious
predators of night-flying insects such as beetles and moths or aquatic flies and
mosquitoes,” Weaver said.
Author and cave explorer Roger Brucker, who has written about Kentucky caves,
said cavers should follow the federal government’s advice until more is known about
the disease.
The problem goes “far beyond the pleasure and inconvenience of a few cavers,” he
said, adding that bats are known to eat three to five times their weight in insects per
night, “and the death of hundreds of thousands of bats means millions of pounds of
dangerous mosquitoes and other bugs can overwhelm farm crops, animals, and
infect people.”
“Temporarily suspending a hobby seems to me a small price to pay when the health
and safety of thousands of people may be at stake.”
At Mammoth Cave National Park, the public only has access to about 10 miles of the
367-mile-long Mammoth Cave, and park workers already keep people out of areas
where bats hibernate, said park spokeswoman Vickie Carson.
But Carson said there are about 200 other caves in the national park that are only
open to researchers who have special permits.
Thomas said it is possible that access to those caves could be restricted in the
future.
In all, Kentucky has more than 5,000 caves and is a regional destination for caving
enthusiasts from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Tennessee, said Randy Paylor, a
Lexington caver and board member of the Kentucky Speleological Survey, a
nonprofit group that preserves cave maps and records.
“This has the potential for shutting down caving, at least for a while,” he said.
The 700,000-acre Daniel Boone National Forest in Eastern Kentucky is considering
a temporary emergency closure of all or most of its caves, said forest biologist
Richard Braun.
The policy now, he said, is that all caves are considered open to the public, unless
they are posted as closed because they provide vital habitat for one of three
endangered species of bats, including the Indiana bat, he said.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said the disease affects bats while they are
hibernating. They often have a white fungus on their muzzles and other parts of their
bodies, and typically have excessively low body fat. They will come out of
hibernation early, and then fly during the day or during cold winter weather, when the
insects they feed upon are not available.
“It’s not a good thing,” said Steve Gentry, a Mount Washington caver active with the
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group Louisville Grotto, which he said has 50 to 60 members.
Gentry said he thinks most experienced cavers will avoid caves with hibernating
bats.