Deadly bat fungus detected in Alabama cave crucial to rare species

By Laura Zuckerman (Reuters) – A fungus tied to a disease devastating hibernating bats in the United States has been found in an Alabama cave system critical to the survival of endangered gray bats, government scientists said on Monday. Detection of the fungus that causes the bat disease, white-nose syndrome, in the Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama “could be pretty catastrophic” for the up to 1.6 million protected gray bats that hibernate there, said Paul McKenzie, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species coordinator. …