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Got bats? The DEC wants to check

NEW YORK DEC COURTESY PHOTO A Northern Long-Eared Bat is seen hanging in a crawl space where it typically goes to hibernate during winter months.
COURTESY PHOTO A Northern Long-Eared Bat is seen hanging in a crawl space where it typically goes to hibernate during winter months.

People aren’t the only living species wanting to crawl into a warm space on a cold winter day.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation have discovered that Northern Long-Eared Bats on the East End of Long Island and on Nantucket in Massachusetts have been riding out the winter in crawl spaces of residences.

Because the crawl spaces, especially those partially buried underground, provide the right conditions for the bats to maintain their body heat during their winter hibernation, they have been discovered with increasing regularity in these areas.

If you’re an East End homeowner interested in assisting the DEC scientists with their research and are willing to allow scientists to crawl around to discover if any bats are harbored in crawl spaces on your property, Kevin Jennings would like to hear from you.

He can be reached by telephone at (631) 444 0307 or by email at [email protected].

White-nose syndrome is a fungal disease that has  been killing bats in North America that need to be protected because they eat insects, providing a natural benefit to farmers and foresters, according to various studies, including those done by the U.S. National Park Service, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and White-NoseSyndrome.org.

Researchers estimate bats provide at least $3 billion annually in economic value to society.

Hibernating bats wake up with the fungus on their noses and wings and spread the disease to other bats. They don’t transmit the disease to people, but the fungus can result in the bats developing other diseases such as rabies that certainly can be transmitted to people.

Human health is indirectly affected because of the loss of the bats’ insect eating abilities, according to the U.S. National Park Service.

COURTESY PHOTO
COURTESY PHOTO

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