Tag: White-nose Syndrome

By MacKenzie Hall, Private Lands Biologist

Jackie Kashmer is a bat-saving machine.  Surely, no mere mortal is fit for the long, painstaking hours she spends to make the tiny animals well again.  But then, no machine could do it with the grace or heart.  Let me introduce you to the New Jersey Bat Sanctuary.

For six years, Jackie has focused her wildlife rehabilitation practice on bats alone – a decision that’s given her a special understanding of what makes bats tick.  And since all of her patients have similar basic needs, she can provide for them in a consistent and well-oiled way.

Inside the Bat Sanctuary are dark, warm rooms lined with nylon enclosures.  The enclosures have a maternal touch, with patterned cloth drapes, cushiony hand-sewn pouches, and little hollowed logs – all for the bats to nuzzle in and feel safe.  If you stand there with the lights on, the cages look still and empty, their furry occupants tucked away in the unlit spaces.  You hear an occasional chirpy “pz-pz-pzzz.”

But it’s not all darkness and calm.  White-nose Syndrome has changed the pace at the New Jersey Bat Sanctuary.  Last winter, Morris County’s Hibernia Mine was down to fewer than 800 little brown bats (from roughly 27,000 three years ago).  By late February, some bats were moving to the precarious “freeze zone” near the mouth of the cave – a sign that the White-nose fungus was taking hold.  Not wanting to see any more bats die, Mick Valent (NJ Fish and Wildlife) called Jackie about helping the bats at Hibernia.  Jackie said, “Bring me a hundred.  If I can handle a hundred, then I’ll take more.”  A couple weeks later she was boarding and feeding around 125 bats from Hibernia Mine – everyone from the freeze zone. Continue reading “A Sanctuary for NJ Bats”

Counting bats or the lack thereof

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

It is clear to me that White-nose syndrome (WNS) has decimated a large portion of the bat population in New Jersey, or at least at a site where I count bats for the Summer Bat Count. In 2008 (before WNS), I counted 261 bats at the Chatsworth General Store in August. Counting bats may seem like a daunting feat, but at dusk (when there is still a little light) the bats fly out of their daytime roosts. Sometimes, 1-2 at a time or in bursts of 3-4 or more. In August 2009, I counted 169 bats at the store. This past Sunday, I only counted 23 bats. To say the least these results are alarming. I hope that at other locations in New Jersey people are still seeing bats and I hope that WNS does not continue to decimate the population.

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Students build bat houses and “Adopt a Species” to aid bats in these troubled times

by MacKenzie Hall, CWF Private Lands Biologist

This April, for the second year in a row, I had the happy task of visiting the sixth graders at Valleyview Middle School in Denville, Morris County.  Valleyview  students have taken a great interest in bats lately…partly because their school sits a mere 3 miles from Hibernia Mine, New Jersey’s most important known winter den for resident species like the little brown, northern long-eared, and endangered Indiana bats.

Bats have always been a common neighbor in their town.  And since White-nose Syndrome appeared two winters ago, Denville residents have literally had a front row seat to the toll it has taken.  Many have seen bats flying on cold winter days, searching for food that would not be found, and many have seen the bodies of starved bats on the ground.

Valleyview Middle School has a fantastic science faculty, with teachers like Dan Gross and Chris Bias who aim to give the kids tangible experiences with topics that relate to their own community.   They chose to turn the White-nose Syndrome crisis into a learning opportunity:

Why are bats important?

What happens if we lose them?

What can we do to help?

The school invited us to come in and teach the students about their local bats and talk about the work we’re doing to help study and protect them.  I got to interact with the entire sixth grade, first finding out how much they already knew about bats and then teaching them a whole lot more!

I came back a second day to put the kids to work – we built six bat houses which will be installed in parks and other properties across the region.  Everybody (including me) had a lot of fun with the screw guns, hammers, and caulk…and my “no eyes poked out” success streak continues!

The school also made an “Adopt A Species” donation to the Conserve Wildlife Foundation to support our work.

Thank you, Valleyview Middle School!