White-nose syndrome has killed over 6 million North American bats since 2006, causing one of the most catastrophic wildlife disease events in recorded history.
White-nose syndrome causes prolonged suffering through repeated premature hibernation arousal. Each arousal burns approximately 30 days of fat reserves, so affected bats may arouse six or more times during winter, exhausting all stored fat before spring prey becomes available. The bats die slowly of starvation and cold exposure. The scale — millions of individuals dying over weeks and months each winter — represents enormous aggregate suffering. The ecosystem consequences of bat population collapse are also severe, with potential insect pest explosions affecting agriculture and human health.