An estimated 6.7 million bats in North America have died since 2006 because of white nose syndrome. This syndrome is considered the worst wildlife outbreak in North American history. Many species of bats show signs of going extinct. This white nose syndrome is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. This fungus pretty much eats away the skin and usually attacks during their winter hibernation. The bad part is that because their hibernating in the winter they cant consume any nutrients to help fight off the bacteria . The fungus also causes them to wake up more, using up their precious winter fat storage. It kills seventy to ninety percent of bats that contract it! Many of the bats affected by the syndrome are already on the endangered species list.

The only way we can control the outbreak is to close all of the caves. The reason U.S. bats have it is because humans brought it over from China, where the bats have already adapted. There us currently no cure for this. Even if there was a cure how would they distribute it to bats?I wonder what would happen if we didn’t have bats around? More bugs? I wonder what would happen if that syndrome somehow could pass to other animals?