Canada bat populations bouncing back, say experts

Several species of bats in North America are in danger of going extinct.

CTV Science and Technology Expert Dan Riskin said the crisis dates to a grim discovery 20 years ago.

“Around 2006, a biologist in upstate New York walked into a cave where he counted tens of thousands of bats in that cave every year leading up to that point,” said Riskin. “And all of a sudden there were just a few left, and most bats were on the ground dead.”

It was the beginning of the spread of fungal disease called White-nose syndrome which wiped a massive portion of the bat population across Canada and elsewhere in North America.

Nova Scotia is home to seven types of bats. The northern long-eared, tri-coloured and little brown bat live in Nova Scotia year-round and are listed as a species at risk by the Canadian government.