Dying bats called No. 1 mammal crisis in U.S.

[Judi Lynn]

Source: CBS News

July 12, 2011 11:29 AM
Dying bats called No. 1 mammal crisis in U.S.

(CBS News) The lightning-fast die-off of bats is being called the No. 1 crisis affecting mammals in this country. Scientists from more than 100 state and federal agencies are coordinating their efforts to learn why bats are dying.

CBS News Correspondent Betty Nguyen noted on "The Early Show" that one of the consequences of the bats' deaths is more bugs.

Wildlife officials now are pointing to a fungus they say is killing bats in unprecedented numbers.

It's a desperate situation with no solution in sight.

Nguyen reported bats often get a bad rap as creepy, blood-sucking night creatures. But farmers, like James Roby, actually count on them to eat 100,000 tons of crop-damaging bugs every year.



Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/12/earlyshow/living/petplanet/main20078755.shtml

[damntexdem]

1. And that's not 'bats'!

Cause bats are heavy hitters when it comes to bugs.

[BonnieJW]

30. They are also pollinators.

Given the dire situation with the bees, losing yet another pollinator is frightening.

[lovuian]

36. Pollinators dying off and GMO crops and pesticides

Is there a connection?....and the USA uses lots of them

[KamaAina]

2. Well, I'd put it a close second

behind the rampant overpopulation of rabid teabaggers. :P

But seriesly, I've been aware of this for some time, through National Geo. :scared: :(

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Judi Lynn.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. ...

[izquierdista]

5. Some are immune to the fungus

[Plucketeer]

9. Well for god's sake.....

don't start a breeding program with these! These are MUTANT bats. They've been found in Alaska and Minnesota as well!

[Hubert Flottz]

12. Now those are the blood sucking kind...

Bat Butt Ugly too.

[caseymoz]

13. Put them in the fields and have them kill the bugs. nt

[izquierdista]

15. Just photos might even work.....

[BeFree]

6. Monsanto vs. Bats

If the bats are all gone, then Monsanto is the only option to control bugs.

[Tutankhamun]

8. We need Anonymous to help out with Monsanto.

Imagine if the inner workings of Monsanto were laid out for the world to see.

[Downwinder]

10. Given that choice I'll take the bugs.

[jberryhill]

7. The Northern Ding Bat Is Rebounding In Alaska And Minnesota

[SpiralHawk]

11. BATshit crazy Republicons Vs. Nature

Republicons endorse every freaking greedy, stoopid anti-nature thing they can, and thwart every common-sense, actually CONSERVATIVE idea that comes along.

We can lay the blame for this at the feet of Republicon fatcats in their Bruno Magli $2,500 wingtips which they use to kick America & Americans in the face...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

39. But Madame Guano Loco in Minnesota is thriving.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[Zoeisright]

14. So long and thanks for all the fish!

Bees, bats, polar bears - the earth is in peril.

[pscot]

26. Not the "Earth" so much

But we, as top species, may have a problem.

[Cereal Kyller]

34. Many species will go before we do

The good news: Many species will be here long after our nature-raping asses are gone!

[felix_numinous]

16. I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with poison insecticide

or herbicide. :sarcasm:

[wordpix]

40. or habitat destruction or gmo

[caseymoz]

17. Okay, we have droughts, massive floods, bees dying, and now bats.

These problems keep multiplying. It's going to be a terrible couple years for US agriculture, and possibly the beginning of a terrible decade, all due to the environment, ecology and global warming.

US could probably say goodbye to food self-sufficiency right now. So, unless we get manufacturing started, the trade deficit is going to balloon.

That's optimistic. Pessimistic is famine.

[BigD_95]

18. of course it says we dont have the funds

to research the bats right. Cant tax the top 1 % so everyone suffers

[cate94]

19. I miss the bats

We've noticed a huge difference in bat population in the Alma area of WI. A few years ago the sky was full of bats at dusk. They were all flying toward the Mississippi River for a feast.

I visit the area regularly, and this year when I was out at dusk, I saw two bats. Now the bugs feast on us. When the bats were there I never used bug spray and rarely got a bite. Now even with heavy use of insect repellent I end up with bites all over. And the increase isn't just apparent at night.

[woodsprite]

20. Our neighbor just had someone come and remove bats from her attic

She was told they are a protected species in DE, so they sent someone to relocate them, then called someone in to take care of the guano-laden insulation. She told me that the guy removing them said it was a good thing they hadn't had babies yet. If there were baby bats in the attic, they wouldn't have been able to relocate them until some time in November.

[Fly by night]

21. Seven brown bats are now nesting in an open space on my front porch siding.

I get up every morning before dawn so that I can watch them chase each other round and round my house (and my head -- missing me by an inch or so) in a full-hearted display of playfulness before their bedtime. I am so thankful for their presence and hope they'll invite more bats to join them. They take up almost no space where they rest and aren't bothered when I show them off to youngsters (after asking the kids to be real quiet) who come to pick my blueberries these days.

I am blessed.

[closeupready]

22. Don't read Frank Herbert's "The Magic Cottage", then.

:evilgrin:

[Fly by night]

24. If I can't read it, how will I know why not to read it?

A clue, perhaps?

[closeupready]

27. Not a big part of the plot, but

bats figure prominently in a bit of the story - really creepy bits. Makes the cottage seem haunted or like a backdrop for a scary movie. :)

[Bonhomme Richard]

23. LOL, not in my house.

Probably have about 30 of them nesting in my roof ventilation peak. Knew they were there for about 25 years but only a few. This year I noticed a lot more. If it gets to be many more of them I might have to do something.

[pscot]

25. K&R

[OwnedByFerrets]

28. Canaries in the coalmines?

[Peace Patriot]

29. That ol' "fungus" sure gets around. Frog die-off's, bee die-off's, bird die-off's, now...

bat die-off's...always attributed to "a fungus."

But nobody in "authority" ever seems to ask WHY frogs, bees, birds, bats or whatever, which have been around forever in abundance, should suddenly suffer massive die-off's from said "fungus."

And the corpo-fascist press just picks that right up as a SOP to the public. 'Ah, a fungus--like...um...how you can lose your toenail...'.

---

"Wildlife officials now are pointing to a fungus they say is killing bats in unprecedented numbers." --from the OP

[Pooka Fey]

35. + 1

[wordpix]

41. +2 the "fungus" is so convenient for shrugging off accountability

:puke: Stop dumping and spraying the poisons and the bats will come back

[mattvermont]

31. I once had over 300 living in my attic

over the last 3 years that number has declined to none. They are virtually gone from southern Vermont.

[tclambert]

32. Bats aren't dying off, they're just running for President as Republicans.

Michelle Bachmann . . . leading Mitt Romney. QED.

[tabasco]

33. This is awful.

The bats are gone. The bugs are here in much greater numbers.

Sometimes, nature is unfair.

I hope new species, resistant to WNS, can fill the void.

[Evasporque]

37. Ann Coulter is smiling...and drooling a little...

Ann's personal Chef preparing her feeding.

[wordpix]

42. DrugRush, Laura Ingram and InsHannity are coming over to dinner

a wonderful 4some for a great meal

[Manifestor_of_Light]

38. Because of the massive drought, there are fewer bugs for bats to eat.

Last year, at dusk, I would see lots of tiny bats flying around. I live in a little town with lots of woods and wildlife.

This year, since winter, I have not seen any bats coming out at dusk.

[democratinnashville]

43. Less bees and wasps too

Can't remember a year where I have seen fewer.

[astral]

44. How about the radiation from Japan?

I would think if they just started dying off suddenly now, that would be the likely culprit. We don't hear much about it affecting us, but I don't doubt it's here, now, and it is affecting us big time.