Small bat in Ohio faces extinction

SANDUSKY — A bat that's so small it's sometimes mistaken for a moth may soon be listed as endangered by the federal government. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday that it's proposing to list the tricolored bat, found in Ohio and many other states, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The bat, listed as endangered in Ohio since 2020, is threatened with extinction by white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease killing huge numbers of cave-dwelling bats across North America, the service states. The federal agency is taking comments on its proposed listing and will announce a final decision in about a year. If the bat is listed as endangered, the service will work with industry and federal agencies to try to preserve the habitat for the bat. Steps that could be taken would include minimizing the impact of wind energy projects on tricolored bats. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the tricolored bat is one of Ohio's smallest bats and can be mistaken for a large moth when it's flying around. They love to eat small insects and have three color bands in their fur of various shades of brown. They are found in 39 states east of the Rocky Mountains, much of Canada and much of Central America. White-nose syndrome is a fungus that infects bats hibernating in caves. The fungus affects that bats by waking them up during hibernation, resulting in the bats becoming dehydrated and starving to death. White-nose syndrome has been confirmed in Sandusky County and in many other Ohio counties, according to the website for the White-nose Syndrome Response Team, which coordinates government efforts to save bats from the disease. According to an article by Denise Blough, at deniseblough.com, white-nose syndrome has had a devastating effect in tricolored bats in Ohio. For example, a cave in Lawrence County that averaged 121 tricolored bats from 2007 to 2011 had one tricolored bat in 2020. The little brown bat and the northern long-eared bat also have been devastated by the disease and also are listed as endangered in Ohio. The White-nose Syndrome Response Team website, whitenosesyndrome.org, has information on what people can do to help endangered bats.