The Field Museum will have bats on the brain when it hosts a public symposium on flying mammals and the disease that threatens them. We hear from a zoologist about why bats are so important to the ecosystem on Chicago Tonight at 7:00 pm.

A previously unknown fungus, Geomyces destructans, has infected and killed over 1 million bats since its devastating effects were first noticed in 2006. While concentrated in the eastern United States and Canada, the disease is spreading rapidly, and is now found in at least 16 states and 4 provinces.

Bats hibernating in caves and mines are vulnerable because these cool, humid environments are also favored by the fungus. At risk are huge numbers of valuable insect predators whose absence will upset ecosystems – natural and man-made - that we have only begun to understand.

Are there solutions to this epidemic? Can you help?Join a group of experts, on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm at The Field Museum, for a symposium about bats and the crisis that they face in the disease known as White Nose Syndrome.

For more on The Battle for Bats and White Nose Syndrome, watch the short documentary below from Ravenswood Media:

The Battle for Bats: White Nose Syndrome from Ravenswood Media on Vimeo.

For more information, please visit the links and photo gallery below.

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The Battle for Bats at The Field Museum

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