Fungus

The U.S. Forest Service is closing thousands of caves and former mines. They are closing the caves and mines in national forests. These forests are in 33 states in an effort to control a fungus. This fungus has already killed about 500,000 bats. Bats have been dying very quickly.The problem was first spotted in New York. Within two years this fungus has spread to caves in West Virginia and Virginia. There's no evidence the fungus is harmful to people. Researchers believe the fungus is spread from bat to bat. They have not ruled out the possibility that humans that walk from cave to cave might help to transmit the fungus on their shoes and equipment. A second order covering the Forest Service's 13-state Southern region should be issued later this month. The sites will be closed for up to a year. The orders follow a March request by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for people to voluntarily stay out of caves in 17 states. Biologists are concerned the fungus could kill endangered Indiana, Virginia, and Ozark big-eared and gray bats. This fungus is deadly if it killed that many bats already. This was the new thing that I learned.