White Nose Syndrome Seen in NH Hibernating Bats

Rattlesnake Gal · 02-23-2009, 05:09 PM

News from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

White Nose Syndrome Seen in Bats in N.H. Hibernaculum
Residents Asked to Report Bats Seen Flying in Winter

Bat researchers monitoring New Hampshire's hibernating bats have found early signs of White Nose Syndrome.

Click here for the full story.

If you have found a dead bat and would like to send it to a laboratory for WNS testing, contact the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program at NH Fish and Game at (603) 271-2461 to arrange for transportation. To collect a dead bat, place it in a plastic zipper bag, then in a second zipper bag, and freeze. In the outside bag, place a note stating where and when the bat was collected, by whom and anything else you observed about the bat. Although White Nose Syndrome is not known to affect humans, bats can transmit other diseases such as rabies, so always take the precaution of wearing thick gloves when handling a bat, whether it is dead or alive. Bats groom the fungus off before flying, so you will not see white fungus on a bat that leaves its hibernaculum.

02-23-2009, 05:09 PM	#1
Rattlesnake Gal Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Central NH Posts: 5,252 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 1,451 Thanked 1,349 Times in 475 Posts	White Nose Syndrome Seen in NH Hibernating Bats News from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department White Nose Syndrome Seen in Bats in N.H. Hibernaculum Residents Asked to Report Bats Seen Flying in Winter Bat researchers monitoring New Hampshire's hibernating bats have found early signs of White Nose Syndrome. Click here for the full story. If you have found a dead bat and would like to send it to a laboratory for WNS testing, contact the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program at NH Fish and Game at (603) 271-2461 to arrange for transportation. To collect a dead bat, place it in a plastic zipper bag, then in a second zipper bag, and freeze. In the outside bag, place a note stating where and when the bat was collected, by whom and anything else you observed about the bat. Although White Nose Syndrome is not known to affect humans, bats can transmit other diseases such as rabies, so always take the precaution of wearing thick gloves when handling a bat, whether it is dead or alive. Bats groom the fungus off before flying, so you will not see white fungus on a bat that leaves its hibernaculum.