White Nose Fungus in bats - Elliot Lake
Hello Phill!
We had a big adventure last weekend on the Cobre Lake Trail. There were about 31 hikers, but Stan, Stephanie and I went into the Blue Sky Mine adit to look for bats - and we found some. Stan was looking for bats with WNF, white nose fungus, which is killing off the bats in northeastern North America. We think we may have photographed about 5 bats that looked like they were covered in the white fungus. There were also healthier ones at the back of the adit. I'm not a biologist, so my first question was whether these were 2 separate species of bats, but no one could tell. So we took lots of photos and I notified the Wildlife Health Centre (see below) about our findings.
A conservation officer, Eden Boyko, finally got back to me on Friday Sept 17th with the message below. She can't tell from my photos whether the bats at Cobre Lake trail/Blue Sky Mine are ill with WNF. She said that this area has been targeted for a visit by the Conservation Officers to check out the bats. The bats start their hibernation in full next month and it lasts until March. The officers will come in their sterilization suits to do their stuff. She is asking that all hikers refrain from going into the mine adit - see her message below. The illness actually comes from humans carrying the fungus into the cave/adit, so that is the main point. As we hike from cave/adit to cave/adit we are actually the carriers of the fungus and we are the reason that the bats are dying off.
Is there a way to send this message out to all the hikers? And to pass it on to the public. I am not the alarmist and would like to know if the bats I saw actually carried the WNF - but even then with bat hibernation just around the corner, we shouldn't be going into the caves anyways.
Eden sent some information, but if you google White Nose Fungus, Ontario, bats etc. you will get lots of info. The reputable sites are below: the MNR, The USGS.
Let me know if there are other groups that we can notify.
Paula
The contact should you find any sick or dead bats, or ones with the white fungus around their muzzle:
Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre at 1-866-673-4781
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/FW/2ColumnSubPage/278166.html for local information
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2058 - shows the biologists in their sterilization suits
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From: Boyko, Eden (MNR) [mailto:Eden.Boyko@ontario.ca]
Sent: September-17-10 3:17 PM
To: Paula Takats
Subject: RE: WNF in bats - Elliot Lake
Hi Paula,
Thank you for taking the time to chat with me and send these photos. I have directed the photos to experts in MNR for some preliminary discussion, however, it will not likely be possible to confirm or deny the presence of White-nose syndrome (WNS) from photos alone.
As we discussed, I have some information that I'd really appreciate if you'd pass on to the folks in your hiking group. Do you have a contact that I might speak with to get this information posted on the VTA website? I think that might be a really good step to reach a lot of folks.
Again I wanted to reiterate that we ask folks to always refrain from touching bats (alive or dead) since a small percentage can carry rabies. Also, refraining from entering caves or abandoned mines where bats might be present may help to control the spread of WNS. I really appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
Thank you again for your interest and concern and I'll be in touch,
Eden
From: Paula Takats [mailto:ptakats@denisonenvironmental.com]
Sent: September 17, 2010 2:55 PM
To: Boyko, Eden (MNR)
Subject: WNF in bats - Elliot Lake
Hi Eden,
I am sending you the last of my 3 messages. Actually there will be one more, a pdf of the map area, that I have on my home computer and I will send to you on Monday. The photos in this message were taken at the back of the cave/adit. The bats were roosting in groups or alone but close together. They wiggled around as we moved up close to take photos. I am trying to contact the other person, Stephanie who was taking photos with a better camera and I will be sure to send you those pictures as well.
Two of the club members were in the cave/adit last fall, Thanksgiving weekend, and claimed to see hundreds of bats flying out of the cave/adit when they went in. There were only 3 hikers that trip.
The local hiking group is called Courreurs de Bois, and is part of the Voyageur Trail Association:
http://coureursdeboiselliotlake.blogspot.com/
You will see some of the photos of the hikers during the Cobre Trail hike, and the opening of the cave/adit on this blogsport. The members are mostly retired and tend to be very active.
Another active group in the area are the Penokean Hills Field Naturalists. I think that they would be the ones to write up this story and tell everyone about the plight of the bats.
The Blue Sky Mine was operational in 1955 for only a short period of time. I can't find much information on it except that copper sulphide was the ore.
Let me know if you need more information. Don't hesitate to call me at work. I am really curious to see if there are actually two species of bats and no white nose fungus!
Paula
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| This e-mail is intended for the exclusive use of the person(s) mentioned as the recipient(s). This message and any attached files with it are confidential and may contain privileged or proprietary information. If you are not the intended recipient(s) please delete this message and notify the sender. You may not use, distribute print or copy this message if you are not the intended recipient(s). |
