RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – The National Park Service says a fungus that causes a deadly disease of bats has been detected on bats in South Dakota for the first time.
The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome was detected on one western small-footed bat and four big brown bats in Jackson County at Badlands National Park last month.
The Rapid City Journal reports the fungus was detected during testing by the National Park Service Northern Great Plains Network and the University of Wyoming.
White-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats in North America since it was first discovered in New York in 2006.
While results confirm the presence of the fungus, they do not confirm the syndrome, which can only be confirmed by microscopic examination of tissue samples. Tissue samples were not taken during the sampling.
