Bat-killing fungus may have spread to Maryland

Signs of white nose syndrome found in Allegany cave

March 11, 2010 | By Frank D. Roylance | Baltimore Sun reporter Biologists have found what they believe is the first evidence that Maryland bats are now infected with white nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease that has killed more than a million hibernating bats since 2006, devastating colonies from New England to Virginia. A state biologist conducting a bat survey Friday found dead and weakened bats in a cave on private property near Cumberland, the Department of Natural Resources reported Wednesday. About three-quarters of the winged mammals had the telltale white fungus on their muzzles and other exposed skin.
Advertisement “It’s likely going to kill a majority of them before spring,” said Dan Feller, the western region DNR biologist who found them. Typically, once the disease is established in a colony, 90 percent of the bats are gone by the second year. The dead bats, and samples of the fungus, have been sent to the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., for tests. Results are expected in several weeks. The discovery was no surprise. White nose syndrome has been creeping steadily south, east and west from caves near Albany, N.Y., where it was first seen in 2006. …