One of six species of bat living in Kootenay National Park (KNP) has been listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as endangered.

The Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus), found in KNP, is one of three species of bat recently listed by COSEWIC as endangered.

“This emergency designation resulted from unprecedented mortality in Canada’s native bat species from Geomyces destructans, the pathogen responsible for White-nose Syndrome, which is a condition, named for a distinctive fungal growth around the muzzles and on the wings of hibernating bats,” reported Larry Halverson, a retired national park naturalist who lives in the Columbia Valley.

“This poorly understood disease is associated with the deaths of more than 5.5 million North American bats,” he noted.

For more – go to Endangered Assessment .

Or read the study about behaviour, echolocation calls, and distribution of bats in Kootenay National Park.

Above photo: A Little Brown Bat roosting on the side of the Kootenay National Park office in Radium. Friends of Kootenay National Park photo

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