A little brown bat with fungus on its nose that causes white-nose syndrome in New York.Ryan von Linden/The Canadian Press
A fungus that causes a fatal disease among bats has been detected in their guano near Grand Forks in B.C.’s Kootenay Boundary district, marking the first official confirmation of the condition in the province and putting those who monitor the nocturnal creatures on high alert.
The B.C. government announced the development Monday, saying it had been watching for the arrival of the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in the province since it was detected on the west coast of the United States in 2016.
First discovered in New York state in 2006, WNS has spread to 38 states and eight provinces. The impact of the fungus has been greatest in eastern North America, but it is moving west: it was detected in Washington state in 2016, in Saskatchewan in 2021 and Alberta last year.
The disease is named for the white fungus that grows on the muzzle of affected bats while they hibernate. The fungus disturbs bats’ hibernation, making them wake up more frequently and increases the likelihood that they’ll burn through limited fat stores and starve to death. The fungus can rip quickly through caves where bats hibernate.
The death toll of the fungus has resulted in three Canadian bat species being listed as “endangered” under the federal Species at Risk Act, or SARA.
Bat fungus that causes fatal White-Nose Syndrome makes first appearances in Alberta
Because there is currently no proven prevention or treatment for WNS, the best approach for bat conservation is to support the mammal’s healthy populations, the B.C. government said in its release.
Those efforts can involve individuals who put up bat houses on their property, research scientists who collect guano for testing, and community groups that have embraced bats for their role in insect control and maintaining healthy ecosystems.
In Peachland, for example, the Bat Education & Ecological Protection Society was set up to protect a colony of little brown bats found in the attic of the Peachland Historic Schoolhouse. That species was listed under the SARA in 2014.
The bats, which usually come to the building from May to August, have become a tourist attraction, with people gathering in the evening to watch as many as 2,000 stream out of the building to feed and drink on hot summer nights, said BEEPS director Darlene Hartford.
The Peachland Volunteer Fire Crew drops by each fall to remove the season’s guano; a wooden floor was added to prevent any baby bats, known as pups, from getting snared in the building’s insulation; and BEEPS has installed cameras that have revealed insights into bat behaviour, such as “babysitter bats” that stay behind to look after pups when their mothers head out to feed, Ms. Hartford said.
BEEPS has been on high alert for WNS, especially since it was detected on the U.S. West Coast.
“It is definitely a concern for us – we have been monitoring since we started,” she said.
The B.C. Community Bat Program works with community groups such as BEEPS to encourage co-existence between bats and humans, and to advise property owners what to do if they find bats in their attic, eaves or barns.
A few B.C. species, including little brown bats, rely extensively on human-made structures for roosting and raising offspring, the group says. Summer roosts, like the Peachland school house, are used by female bats to give birth to and raise their pups in surroundings that are safe from predators. Most bats have only one pup a year.
The fungus is primarily spread by bat-to-bat contact and can sweep quickly through colonies. The fungus doesn’t affect humans, but humans may spread the fungus on clothes or other items or by forcing bats to move. Alberta has closed some caves to public access as a preventive measure.