White-nose Syndrome Detected in Bats at Rocky Mountain National Park

Excerpt:  “Park staff have confirmed the presence of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in three bats at Rocky Mountain National Park; two bats on the west side and one bat on the east side of the park. All three bats were long-legged bats (Myotis volans).  With these new findings, white-nose syndrome has now been detected on both sides of the continental divide in Rocky Mountain National Park. This is the first documented case of WNS in Grand County, Colorado. This is an unfortunate but not a surprise finding after laboratory tests conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in April, confirmed that the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) had been positively detected in bats found in the Holzwarth Historic Site area located on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. This was the first confirmed detection of Pd in Grand County, Colorado. White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease that is often fatal in bats. Pd, the fungus that causes WNS, can spread rapidly, primarily through bat-to-bat contact. WNS does not cause illness in humans, but humans are able to spread the fungus to new places.”