State wildlife biologists expect a deadly disease in bats to reach Michigan within the next couple of years. White nose syndrome has killed more than a million bats as it spread rapidly across the Eastern U.S. since 2006. Infected bats are now within flying distance of the Upper Peninsula.
So far, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has found no sign of white nose syndrome. It's a fungus that irritates the skin of bats as they hibernate. The bats wake up, use up their stored energy and basically starve to death.
Bill Scullon, a DNR wildlife biologist in Baraga, says federal officials are considering putting two commonly found bats on the Endangered Species List because of this disease.
"Because it's so devastating," he says. "And those states that have had white nose for many years now, four or five years, they have virtually all gone. I mean they have that much of a mortality rate, 100 percent mortality rate. "
The DNR says a recent agricultural study estimates bats consume enough insects to save Michigan farmers as much as a billion dollars a year in pesticide costs.
Bats spread the disease to each other. People who explore underground caverns also may spread the disease, by carrying spores of the fungus on their boots, clothing and gear. Some states have barred entry to caves to try to stop white nose syndrome.
