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Fungus that causes bat-killing disease detected at Bracken Cave

Bracken Cave houses largest bat cave in the world

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SAN ANTONIO – A wildlife disease that has killed millions of bats across North America has been detected at the Bracken Cave Preserve.

Bat Conservation International announced Wednesday that early signs of the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans have been detected at the site, which is located in southern Comal County.

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The Bracken Cave is the home of up to 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats and one of the largest colonies of bats in the world.

The fungus causes a disease called white-nose syndrome that kills bats when they hibernate in winter.

Some states have seen a 90 percent decrease in their bat populations due to white-nose syndrome.

The fungus was found for the first time in Texas in March 2017 in samples taken from three bat species in six West Texas counties.

KSAT has reported on the importance of the bats to the Texas ecosystem in August 2018 and got an up-close look at a swirling “batnado.” See the batnado in action, here.

Texas is home to 32 bat species that control insect populations and help with crop pollination.

Officials with Bat Conservation International said they are working closely with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as well as the white-nose syndrome research community to “continue to expand efforts to understand what this means and to develop long-term solutions for protecting those species.” 

The fungus does not affect humans.


About the Author
RJ Marquez headshot

RJ Marquez is the traffic anchor/reporter for KSAT’s Good Morning San Antonio. He also fills in as a news anchor and has covered stories from breaking news and Fiesta to Spurs championships and high school sports. RJ started at KSAT in 2010. He is proud to serve our viewers and be a part of the culture and community that makes San Antonio great.

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