Rewilding the World

The scientist who said this was talking not about the BP oil spill but about the fungus known as “White-Nose Syndrome.” In a recent article in the Boston Globe, Winifred Frick, a researcher at Boston University, commented on projections suggesting that the fungus may cause even common species like today’s Endangered All-Star, the Little Brown Bat, to become extinct in the northeast within 20 years. Over a million bats of various species have already been killed by the disease in 14 states since 2006, with mortality rates approaching 100%, according to Bat Conservation International. Bats are key predators, controlling insects and contributing to biodiversity in cave systems.