At dusk it’s easy to miss things in the low light. For example, I miss bats.
They used to be frequent fliers around here, relatively easy to spy overhead as the summer days faded. How many years has it been since they last swooped, banked, soared over the backyard, knocking back mosquitoes and other pests at speed. I’d lean back in a deck chair, sip a cool beverage and marvel at their silent acrobatics.
Feeling nostalgic for the leather-winged aeronauts one recent evening, I asked my smartphone, “What has happened to bats?” A shortened answer, one from the National Wildlife Health Center: In 31 states and parts of Canada, bat populations are down 80 percent from a decade ago.
White Nose Syndrome is the disease that began killing millions of hibernating bats the winter of ’07. Even if researchers find a cure or means of disease containment, bats’ numbers will not bounce back. With exceptions for a few species, most female bats only have one pup per year.
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