White-nose Syndrome is decimating the bat population in several parts of the country, but before you say 'good riddance', think about their importance. A bat eats 60% to 100% of its body-weight in insects, like mosquitos and crop killing larvae, every day. Adams says one colony of Mexican free-tailed bats in Colorado's San Luis Valley, an important agricultural region, "pulls about 100 metric tons of insects out of the air in a year," Scientists say it is the largest extiction of mammals we have ever seen, and there is no cure in sight. WNS causes the bats to wake up and leave hibernation, where they quickly burn off their fat reserves and starve or freeze to death. The die-off has been from 80 to 100% in infected areas and is spreading at approx 500 miles per year.
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http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/bat-die-off-could-devastate-us-agriculture/19669951/?icid=sphere_copyrig
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