Category: News

Bat Conservation: Helping Maine’s Bat Population in the Face of White Nose Disease and Other Threats

"The bat population has been in decline in Maine ever since 2011, when the onset of white nose syndrome caused by a harmful fungus began to kill off different bat species here. Bats are beneficial to the ecosystem, particularly because they eat insects and pests. During National Bat Week, we’ll learn about statewide efforts to monitor and foster the health of the bat population, and we’ll also talk with experts about what to do if bats are in your home—or if you are worried about exposure to rabies." View Full Article

As Bats Vanish, Biologists Race to Understand Them

"GREAT BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, N.H. — In the twilight before moonrise, a faint shadow swooped overhead and into the surrounding bower. Dave Yates switched off his headlamp and quietly signaled for his fellow wildlife biologists to stop. They waited a few minutes before approaching one of the large traps they had erected along a winding trail. Yates aimed his headlamp into the October night illuminating their quarry: a big brown bat. He carefully untangled the furry creature’s wispy wings, pointy ears, and sharp teeth from what looked like a volleyball net. It was the 73d bat caught since August…

Bat Man Seeks to Save Endangered Creatures

"He sleeps during the day and does his work in the dead of night surrounded by bats. He is The Batman. David Yates doesn't live a double life as a playboy billionaire, and he isn't the hero Gotham needs. But his work is important, as it helps humans better understand a bat population that is fast dwindling in the Northeast. Yates is a wildlife research biologist and the mammal program director at Biodiversity Research Institute of Gorham, Maine. In recent years, he has studied bats in the Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge, trying to determine which species live on the…

Bats Face Scary Ecological Threats

"CAPE ELIZABETH – At ten past 8 on a recent night, the bats began to emerge from their sleeping quarters. They would go for a drink at Great Pond before dining on the local insect population. But first, David Yates intended to snag some of them in his nets, to show them to his audience. “It’s been a good night for bats,” said Yates, a bat biologist. Yates was talking to 20 adults and children who assembled in the dark for the BioDiversity Research Institute’s annual bat catch. Dressed in warm clothes, carrying flashlights and reeking of bug repellent, the…