The importance of bats in our environment and the rapid decline in their populations has prompted state and federal governments to take protective actions. In Connecticut, the six species most affected by WNS include the big brown, little brown, northern long-eared, tricolored, eastern small-footed, and Indiana bats.All of these species, except the big brown bat, are now listed as endangered under the Connecticut Endangered Species Act.The decline of the northern long-eared bat has been so severe it was listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as federally threatened and is currently proposed to be listed as “endangered.” The Indiana bat, federally endangered since 1967, was on the brink of recovery prior to WNS, and is once again in serious decline. Tricolored bats have been proposed for federal listing as “endangered” and little brown bats are being reviewed as a candidate for federal listing.

In response, biologists and researchers are working to address several key areas, including disease management, conservation, and recovery; surveillance and diagnostics; data management; and outreach and communications. Many of these efforts have been supported by the State Wildlife Grants program, a critical source of funding for addressing urgent wildlife disease issues. Since 2007, theDEEP Wildlife Division has been an active participant in the WNS response. Each year, DEEP biologists monitor bats to document mortality, survivorship, and reproductive success.DEEP also participates in region-wide monitoring programs to best direct conservation resources.For more information on white-nose syndrome and related conservation efforts, visit www.whitenosesyndrome.org.

Coinciding with Halloween, Bat Week (www.batweek.org) is celebrated each year from October 24-31 to help raise awareness about the importance of bats.

“Halloween is a great time to dispel myths about bats,” said Jenny Dickson, Director of the DEEP Wildlife Division. “Rather than harbingers of doom, bats are crucial for healthy ecosystems and provide tremendous economic benefits to agriculture and forestry by controlling insects.”

• Bats are the only mammal capable of true flight; they are not flying mice

• Bats are adept fliers who do not try to get caught in people’s hair. Bats that fly near people are after insects like mosquitos or moths.

• Bats have good eyesight but rely on echolocation to navigate at night; they are not blind.

• Bats’ healthy wings are essential for flight, so bats take care in grooming themselves; they are not filthy or covered in parasites.

• There are more than1,400 species of bats in the world and only three are known as vampire bats. These three species are only found in Latin America and act as parasites of birds and cattle.

• Report bats seen outside during the winter to deep.batprogram@ct.gov or call the Wildlife Division at 860-424-3011. Be sure to include the date, location, and any digital photos of the bat.
  Reduce pesticide use—let bats and birds take care of the insects.

• Protect roosting and hibernation sites.

• Spread the word about Bat Week!

Bats are the single greatest predator of night-flying insects. A single colony of big brown bats can eat roughly 1.3 million insects every year—nearly 9,000 insects per bat.