Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




FLORA AND FAUNA
Power plant in Vermont serving host to 200 endangered bats
by Brooks Hays
Middlebury, Vt. (UPI) Aug 20, 2014


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Some 200 little brown bats have made their home in Green Mountain Power's hydro power facility in Middlebury, Vermont. Officials with the state's Fish & Wildlife Department alerted the company to the bats' presence after a local resident called in to say he'd seen bats flying out of the building every night.

"I think it's fun that we have bats in our hydro," Green Mountain Power spokeswoman, Kristin Carlson, told the Rutland Herald.

Little brown bats are a species of mouse-eared bats used be one of the most common in the United States, but a fungal infection known as white nose syndrome has decimated the species. The disease has shrunk populations in the Northeast by some 90 percent and left the species endangered in many states, including Vermont.

State biologist Alyssa Bennett inspected the bats and their new home to make sure the situation was safe for both the bats and the workers at the facility. She says central Vermont is a haven for the declining species.

"They feed on aquatic insects, and they tend to like older buildings," she said. "They're few and far between now, so we're doing everything we can to keep an eye on them."

And Carlson says her company is glad to help out.

"Anything we can do to help this recovery we're happy to do," she told the Herald. "We're just letting them be. Nobody is scared of bats at GMP. We all love bats."

.


Related Links
Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








FLORA AND FAUNA
Cities help spiders grow bigger, multiply faster
Sydney (UPI) Aug 20, 2014
Arachnophobic urbanites, you might want to pack it up and head for the suburbs - safer yet, the countryside. New research suggests many spiders prefer the glitz and glam of the city life. In a recent study, published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists reveal that certain spider species get bigger and multiply faster in urban environs. It's no secret that urbanization is on t ... read more


FLORA AND FAUNA
Families wage citizen campaign to solve MH370 mystery

UN warns of 'massacre' in besieged Iraq Shiite town

Governor stands down National Guard in US riot town

Japanese PM visits Hiroshima after killer landslides

FLORA AND FAUNA
Laser makes microscopes way cooler

Researchers prove stability of wonder material silicene

New F-16 configuration features AESA radar

Lockheed taps GenDyn unit for Space Fence ground equipment structures

FLORA AND FAUNA
Cause of global warming hiatus found deep in the Atlantic Ocean

Fish, new coral steer clear of smelly, damaged reefs

Water delivery drivers dice with death in war-torn Gaza

Sudan hosts talks on Ethiopian Nile dam row

FLORA AND FAUNA
Arctic sea ice influenced force of the Gulf Stream

Sunlight, not microbes, key to CO2 in Arctic

Waterloo makes public most complete Antarctic map for climate research

Canada to push Arctic claim in Europe

FLORA AND FAUNA
Australia's McGuigan seals wine distribution deal in China

Drought, blight threaten to press up olive oil price

Efforts to confront Africa's soil crisis triples farm yields

Nut price surge could leave Nutella-lovers shelling out

FLORA AND FAUNA
Strong 6.4-magnitude quake jolts central Chile: USGS

Powerful Hurricane Marie sends pounding waves to Mexico

Citizen scientists saving lives around deadly 'Throat of Fire' volcano

Tropical storm Karina shaped like a number 9

FLORA AND FAUNA
Wildlife 'WikiLeaks' targets Africa poaching elite

China's Xi hails Mugabe as renowned leader, old friend

'Crucial' to protect victims in mass trial of DRC officer

Pygmies torch DR Congo villages in revenge strike: UN

FLORA AND FAUNA
Neanderthals and humans interacted for thousands of years

Science team criticizes adoption of 'novel ecosystems' by policymakers

Japanese 111-year-old becomes oldest man

8,000-year-old mutation key to human life at high altitudes




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.