By Elle Cabrera
St. George Spectrum & Daily News
When bats come to mind, people generally think of horror movies and vampires, but bats actually play an important role in the ecosystem. But they're in danger.
White Nose Syndrome, WNS, was discovered in New York in 2006 and has been affecting the U.S. and Canadian bat populations ever since. It’s a white fungus that attacks the skin of the bats while they hibernate and wakes them. The bats attempt to clean off the fungus, and it gets on their ears and noses — hence the name White Nose Syndrome.
Since WNS attacks bats during hibernation, the bats spend precious energy awake and using up their food stores, essentially starving them to death. There is no known cure, and it has a 90-100% fatality rate. WNS has made its way across the U.S. and only a few states are currently WNS free: Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, Florida, and Louisiana.