Fri February 15, 2013 Bat Disease Found in Two More State Parks
A disease responsible for killing millions of bats in North
America has spread to caves at two state parks in eastern
Kentucky that are homes to federally endangered bats, parks
officials said Friday. White-nose syndrome has been detected in
caves at Carter Caves State Resort Park and Kingdom Come State
Park, said state parks department spokesman Gil Lawson. Small
numbers of bats have died so far from the disease, he said. It's
the latest red flag in the fight to prevent the spread of the
disease in Kentucky, home to large numbers of bats that
hibernate in a vast network of caves. The disease has been found
in 10 Kentucky counties - Bell, Breckinridge, Carter, Christian,
Edmonson, Hart, Letcher, Trigg, Warren and Wayne, Lawson said.
White-nose was confirmed earlier this year at Cumberland Gap
National Historic Park and in one of the caves at Mammoth Cave
National Park. Diseased bats were found recently at Carter Caves
in caves that are not open t