HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — State wildlife managers say more hibernating bats have been found to be infected with a disease fatal to the winged mammals in a western Maryland cave.
The Department of Natural Resources says bats infected with white-nose syndrome were found in four of 10 mines in an abandoned mine complex in Washington County.
The fungus causes lesions on the muzzles of bats. It appears to wake them from hibernation before there are enough insects to keep them from starving.
This is the second place in Maryland where hibernating bats have been found to be infected. The fungal infection first appeared in Maryland last spring, in an Allegany County cave.
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