Posted: 09.21.2010

You might notice public service announcements about a Wisconsin native you don't give much thought to - bats! And if you suffered through a lot of mosquitoe bites this year - you should pay attention.

The state Department of Natural Resources
is tracking bats across the state for evidence of a new disease
that has reduced the bat population in at least 14 states.

DNR biologists are checking bats throughout the state for signs
of white-nose syndrome, which has decimated the bat population in
the northeastern U.S.

The DNR is trying to identify sites where bats gather in order
to establish a base population and better determine if the disease
has surfaced here.

DNR bat researcher Mike Bakke tells the La Crosse
Tribune he suspects the disease has already made its way to
Wisconsin. Bakke says it may be one reason mosquitoes were so
plentiful this summer, because one little brown bat can eat about
600 mosquitoes an hour.
 

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