Bats face catastrophic population collapse from white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has killed over 6.7 million North American bats, while also suffering from wind turbine strikes, pesticide exposure, and roost destruction.
White-nose syndrome causes a horrific death for affected bats. The fungus digests wing membrane tissue and disrupts the physiological state of torpor, causing bats to awaken repeatedly during winter hibernation. Each arousal burns precious fat reserves, and affected bats often emerge from hibernation emaciated and unable to find insects in winter. Many die flying erratically in daylight during cold weather, having exhausted their energy reserves. Wind turbine strikes cause blunt trauma and internal hemorrhage. The population-level collapse of bat species from WNS represents billions of individual welfare events - each infected bat experiencing the distress of hunger, cold, and progressive physical deterioration before death.