Bats, America's most precious bat resource, have been dying like
crazy over the past few years (a devastating 5.5 million in the
Eastern U.S. since 2007) thanks to something called White-Nose
Syndrome, which is not a euphemism for cocaine addiction but, oh
boy, does it sound like it. Here's what we know so far about the
devil's dust killing our insect-eating friends: - The "white
nose" of the name refers to the white powdery growth that coats
a bat's muzzle and wings once it is infected with the fungus
Geomyces destructans. As if being covered in this stuff weren't
awful enough, the fungus eats away at bats' skin, chewing
through the membranes of their wings, tails and ears. - White-
nose syndrome makes bats tweak out in completely irrational
ways. For instance, they begin flying around outside in the
middle of the day in the dead of winter, when all good little
Stellalunas are tucked home safe in their caves, hibernating. -
While so one is sure what, ultimately, is killing the bats, NPR
spoke to a couple scie