News stories tagged with "caves"

(05/03/12) Curt Stager and Martha Foley do some imaginary spelunking and talk about the peculiar variations of animal life in caves.

(06/25/10) An environmental group based in Vermont says it plans to sue the federal government over its handling of white nose syndrome. That's the deadly disease that's been killing bats across the eastern US.

The Center for Biological Diversity hopes to pressure the Interior Department into adding two species of bats to the endangered species list.

As Brian Mann reports, that could mean changes to timber harvesting and other human activities in the forests where the bats spend their summers. more

(03/29/10) The deadly bat disease known as white-nose syndrome was first identified in upstate New York three years ago. It continues to spread fast, with outbreaks now confirmed as far away as Ontario and Maryland. Researchers still don't know how to stop the fungus from reaching new caves. Here in the North Country, biologists now say the disease has already wiped out 95% of the largest bat colonies. Brian Mann traveled recently with a team of biologists returning to the cave near Albany where the first bats infected with white nose were discovered. He sent this audio postcard.

(06/05/09) A panel of experts testified on Capitol Hill yesterday about the devastating spread of "white nose syndrome," first detected in a Schoharie County cave in February 2006. They called it the biggest single threat to wildlife in the last century. The disease, named for the whitish dusting the fungus creates on bats' noses, ears and wings, has decimated bat populations across the Northeast is spreading rapidly into the mid-Atlantic and now into Canada. As Brian Mann reports, yesterday's hearing was part of an effort to win more money for research and response.

(02/18/08) Wildlife researchers across the Northeast are scrambling to understand a mysterious ailment that is killing thousands of bats, including rare Indiana bats, which are on the endangered species list. "White-nose" syndrome has been found at sites in New York and Vermont. And on Friday, scientists identified a new, infected cave in Massachusetts. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is now urging people to stay out of caves across the region. Brian Mann has our story.

(05/22/02) The North Country's frosty spring is a nuisance for humans, but for wildlife the cold weather can be deadly. Researchers in the Adirondacks say bats are especially vulnerable. The tiny animals are just emerging from their caves weak and hungry after a long winter's hibernation. As Brian Mann reports, scientists are keeping a close watch on "Indiana" bats - an endangered species found in the Champlain Valley.