How does it kill bats?
The fungus leads to bats being awakened too often from hibernation, or less intense periods of torpor. The bats may then use up fat reserves, which they need to survive hibernation, long before winter is over. Affected bats often leave their hibernacula during winter, searching for insects that have not yet emerged, leading to death of the bats by starvation and cold. Death rates of 90-100 percent have been seen in some hibernacula. Emaciation and poor body condition were common factors in bat carcasses checked by the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center. Many of the bats examined had little or no body fat.
