CT DEEP: Bat Population Decline Since Mid-2000s 'Astonishing'

One of the most iconic Halloween symbols has been suffering a severe population drop for more than a decade, officials from the the Connecticut Deprtment of Energy and Environemntal Protection said Monday.

What's normal Across Connecticut is that bats are on the move with three species of tree bats moving south for the winter and while the six cave bat species moving "shorter distances," where they will spend the winter hibernating, DEEP officials said.

What's not so normal, DEEP officials added, is that populations of hibernating bats in Connecticut and across North America have suffered astonishing losses since 2006. The disease known as white-nose syndrome, or WNS, has killed "millions" of bats across 33 states and seven Canadian provinces. WNS is caused by a cold-loving fungus that thrives in caves and mines, and which grows on the muzzle and wings of bats, fatally disrupting their hibernation.

The resulting death toll highlights one of "the most serious conservation challenges we face," deep officials said.

"It is especially frightening, given the environmental and economic value of bats," added.

The values include:

• Bats are the single greatest predator of night-flying insects. A single colony of big brown bats can eat roughly 1.3 million insects every year—nearly 9,000 insects per bat.
• The value of this insect control to agriculture in the U.S. averages $22.9 billion each year.
• This does not include the broader ecosystem benefits of keeping insect populations in check, which has ripple effects in many areas, such as the forest products industry.
• In the southwest, bats play a key role in pollination.

The "importance" of bats and the rapid decline in their populations has prompted state and federal governments to take "protective actions," DEEP officials said.

In Connecticut, the six species most effected by WNS include the big brown, little brown, northern long-eared, tri-colored, eastern small-footed and Indiana bats, axccording to DEEP officials. They added all of these species, except the big brown bat, are now listed as endangered under the Connecticut Endangered Species Act.

Due to WNS, the decline of the northern long-eared bat has been so severe it was listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as federally threatened, according to the DEEP. The Indiana bat, federally listed since 1967, was on the brink of recovery prior to WNS and the species is again in "serious decline," DEEP officials said.

In response, biologists and researchers are working to address several key areas, according to the DEEP.

They include:

• Disease management
• Conservation and recovery
• Surveillance and diagnostics
• Data management
• Outreach and communications

Many of the efforts have been supported by the State Wildlife Grants program, a critical source of funding for addressing urgent wildlife disease issues. Since 2007, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Wildlife Division has been an active participant in the WNS response. Each year, DEEP biologists monitor bats to document mortality, survivorship, and reproductive success. For more information on white-nose syndrome and related conservation efforts, visit www.whitenosesyndrome.org

Coinciding with Halloween, Bat Week (www.batweek.org) is observed each year from October 24 through 31 to help raise awareness about the importance of bats.

"Halloween is a great time to dispel myths about bats," said DEEP Wildlife Division Director Jenny Dickson. "Rather than harbingers of doom, bats are crucial for healthy ecosystems and provide tremendous economic benefits to agriculture and forestry by controlling insects."

Here are a few facts about bats from tge DEEP:

• Bats are not flying mice. They are the only mammal capable of true flight and are more closely related to primates (and people) than to rodents.
• Bats do not try to get caught in people’s hair. They are adept fliers. Bats that fly near people are after insects like mosquitos or moths.
• Bats are not blind; they have good eyesight, but rely on echolocation to navigate at night.
• Bats are not filthy or covered in parasites. Healthy wings are essential for flight, so bats take care in grooming themselves.
• There are over 1,200 species of bats in the world and only three are known as vampire bats. These three species are only found in Latin American and act as parasites of birds and cattle.

"Learning more about bats and the important role they play in healthy ecosystems would be a great Halloween ‘treat’ for this troubled and misunderstood group of animals," Dickson said. "Knowing why bats matter is an important part of efforts to halt the devastation caused by white-nose syndrome."

The DEEP also issued tips on what Connecticut residents can do to help bats throughout the year:

Report bats seen outside during the winter to deep.batprogram@ct.gov or call the Wildlife Division at 860-424-3011. Be sure to include the date, location, and any digital photos of the bat.

• Reduce pesticide use—let bats and birds take care of the insects.
• Protect roosting and hibernation sites.

Want to learn more about bats? Check out DEEP’s Connecticut Fish and Wildlife Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CTFishandWildlife) for interesting facts, photos, and videos about bats.