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 Post subject: Dead bats around mine entrances
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 11:49 pm 
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Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:21 pm
Posts: 8
As you folks are aware there is a fungus that is spreading rapidly across the northeast US that is wiping out winter bat populations that are normally found in caves and mines alike.

The fungus does not appear to be harmful to humans or other animals, but it is possible for spores to be transported site-to-site on your clothes.

If you approach a mine entrance and see dead bats scattered around, bats flying, or bats clustered in the first few hundred feet of the mine, mostly likely this is a WNS site. A rather large number of people are studying this problem not only around the country but now even internationally. Please contact me with site location info so that the situation can be documented, or report it to your state wildlife agency.

For recent WNS maps, info, photos, even a video, and message boards with the latest WNS tidbits and wild speculation, see:

http://www.batmanagement.com/wns/wns.html

If someone lives around Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or north side of Pittsburgh and would like to "check up" on some entrances to known bat mines to monitor for WNS outbreaks let me know.

John Chenger


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:33 am 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:28 pm
Posts: 1758
Location: Winnemucca, NV
Fortunately we have not seen this at any mine sites but will be sure to let you know and have the site properly reported if we come across any WNS sites. Thanks John.

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"If you thought old, abandoned mines were only in the west, then you haven't been to IronMiners.com!"


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 Post subject: WNS and the anthracite coal field
PostPosted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 2:21 am 
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We have evidence now that WNS is in our major bat mines throughout the anthracite region. While the actual number of known sites is still small, 4 as of this writing, they are spread enough and the sites are significant enough that the reality is that WNS is probably everywhere in that region.

To help prevent WNS from spreading so rapidly to other regions, please observe the decon protocols located here:

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/whitenosemessage.html

For general WNS info see;
http://www.batmanagement.com/wns/wns.html
and the related links on that page.


Please report any mine location with bats dead/dying around the entrance zones. Feel free to report anonymously if necessary.
Thanks
jchenger @ (remove these spaces) batmanagement.com


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:36 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2005 12:41 pm
Posts: 2919
Location: Hard coal region, PA
Has anyone actually seen any of this in person yet? Pete?

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:25 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:33 pm
Posts: 3080
Location: Above the Sterling Hill Mine
i haven't noticed any bats deceased outside of mines, but in a few mines, I have seen some dead on the floor. They were too far gone to tell if they had WNS, but I've never seen dead bats on the floor before in mines.

Miner Greg


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 Post subject: Re: Dead bats around mine entrances
PostPosted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 5:46 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:18 pm
Posts: 49
Location: NJ
The mysterious deaths of millions of bats in the United States and Canada over the past several years were caused by a fungus that hitchhiked from Europe, scientists reported Monday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46996215/ns ... e-science/


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 Post subject: Re: Dead bats around mine entrances
PostPosted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:49 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:28 pm
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Location: Winnemucca, NV
Thanks for sharing this important development Miner. As early as October of last year (see viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21959), it was suggested that the fungus Geomyces destructans was thought to be responsible. Bats in Europe harboring this fungus were discovered to be living healthily whereas the bats with it in North America were dieing off. I suppose now there is finally a consensus. Thanks.

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 Post subject: Re: Dead bats around mine entrances
PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 9:12 pm 
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Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 4:33 pm
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Location: Dunmore, PA
Another update and take notice of the pic/caption on the left.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/health-science/bats-might-be-rebounding-1.1302700#axzz1sdLCaGD8

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 Post subject: Re: Dead bats around mine entrances
PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 9:59 am 
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:28 pm
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Location: Winnemucca, NV
Let's hope this is an indication that the bats can build resistance to white nose syndrome, if only overtime. Now let's just wait to see if bat populations start to rise in other mines in New York and New Jersey, where the disease first spread.

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 Post subject: Re: Dead bats around mine entrances
PostPosted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 11:16 pm 
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Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 1:49 am
Posts: 27
Location: wayne nj
if all the bats die we are F**ked. I haven't seen it yet but I always triple wash my stuff before going back out.

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 Post subject: Re: Dead bats around mine entrances
PostPosted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 8:56 am 
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Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2012 4:53 pm
Posts: 272
Location: Ringgold GA
White nose syndrome is pretty much all over the east now. My are is known as TAG (Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia) in the caving world. We have more caves in this part of the country than anywhere else. There are a lot of caves that are closed because of WNS. One cave called Fricks cave was home to the rare Eastern Gray Bat. The cave was only open one day a year when the bats had migrated. There are some studies showing that some bats in this area are surviving WNS so the ones who do survive will propagate and the species will evolve to be immune to the fungus. Sort of a what doesn't kill you makes you stronger thing.

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