Rabid Bat Found in Ottawa County

bat (photo from Michigan Field Guide)

from M-Live

Ottawa County (Michigan) Department of Public Health has announced the first case of rabies in the county this year in any species of animal. No human cases have been reported to date.

Bats are most active from May through September, and people should take precautions. Any scratch or bite should prompt capture of the animal for testing. Finding a bat in a room where people have been sleeping or finding a bat in a room with people such as children or the infirm who cannot clearly communicate any interactions should cause concern.

Do not release of dispose of the bat. Confine or collect the bat and contact your local health department so it can be tested. Rabies is curable if treatment begins before symptoms begin.

So far in 2026, Michigan has found 22 cases of animals with rabies.

See Bat in Emmet County Tests Positive for Rabies


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Bat in Emmet County Positive for Rabies

bat (photo from Michigan Field Guide)

compiled from several sources, primarily the Michigan Health Department

A bat in Emmet County, Michigan, has tested positive for rabies. This comes hard on the heels of a boy who died of rabies in an exposure from a bat in Ontario, Canada. The fatal encounter was the result of a bat landing on the boy's face. There did not appear to be any broken skin, but no medical attention was sought, and although rabies can be stopped from developing with prompt treatment, once the disease develops, it is almost always fatal.

There have been no human cases of rabies associated with the Emmet County incident.

“Typically, less than 1% of wild bats in Michigan carry rabies,” says Dr. Josh Meyerson, Health Department of Northwest Michigan Medical Director. “While the infection rate is low, bats are the primary source of rabies in the state, making up about 90% of all reported animal rabies cases. If you believe you or a family member may have been exposed to a bat, it's important to have the bat tested whenever possible. Prompt testing can help determine whether preventive treatment is needed.”

Bat bites and scratches can be small and difficult to detect, and an exposure may have occurred if a bat is found:
• In a room with a sleeping person
• Near an unsupervised child
• With a person who is mentally impaired or intoxicated
• In direct contact with a pet or person

If any of these situations occur, do not release the bat. Keeping the bat for testing may prevent unnecessary rabies treatment. Although rabies is nearly always fatal once symptoms appear, it is entirely preventable with prompt medical care after an exposure.

See Health Department pdf concerning bat exposures


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Tippy Dam Hosts 20,000 Bats Immune to White Nose Syndrome

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bats hibernating inside Tippy Dam ( photo by David Kenyon/Michigan Department of Natural Resources))

from a feature byInterlochen Public Radio

In the 1990s, Allenn Kurta, biology professor at Eastern Michigan University, heard that there were hundreds of bats living in Tippy Dam on the Manistee River (near Brethren, MI). He went to check it out, expecting to find about 50 bats. Instead he found over 20,000 healthy little brown bats.

More importantly, these bats have not contracted the fungal white-nose syndrome which has devastated bat populations in the Upper Peninsula. The fungus is not a problem for bats in warmer weather. However, when they hibernate in cold weather, the fungus awakens the bats, and they fly out looking for insects to eat. When they find no food, they die.

Kurta found that the fungus was present at Tippy Dam, but the bats were not being affected. Tippy Dam is now home to the largest population of hibernating bats in Michigan.

Kurta said, "There is something going in in that dam that is allowing them to survive the infection," Kurta said. "So it's an important natural resource, and it does a world of good for farmers and everybody else by eating insect pests and things that transmit diseases."

However, the sale of Tippy Dam and several others on the Manistee River is pending. Consumers Energy will divest itself of the outdated and expensive-to-maintain structures. One possible purchaser, Consumers Hydro, has stated that it will continue to operate the dams "in accordance with the same species protections Consumers Energy has undertaken. We further understand the importance of bat research underway at the Tippy Dam, and we look forward to learning more about how we can support these efforts."

Romoval of the dams is still not out of the question. Local residents prefer keeping the dams due to the recreational opportunities found at the dam ponds.

And, as yet, no one has unlocked the secret of why the Tippy Dam bats are immune to the fungus. Learning this key piece of information could save the little brown bat.

See Interlochen Public Radio


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Heating Bats' Winter Homes May Stop White-Nose Syndrome

little brown bats with white nose syndrome in NY (photo NY DEC)

based on an AP news story, "Heaters might stave off doom for bats," by Michael Hill, Mar 5, 2009

Over half a million bats have died in the past three years, from New England to Virginia, of a fungus known as "white-nose syndrome." The fungus has spread from two caves in upstate New York to at least 55 caves in several states. The fungus threatens to completely wipe out the already endangered Indiana Bat.

But it has been found that placing heated boxes in the bat's hibernation caves help the bats make it through the winter. With warmer caves, the bats do not have to burn as much fat to stay warm.

The fungus itself does not kill the bats. It apparently disrupts their sleep pattern, causing them to wake up often, use more energy than normal, and subsequently starve to death.

The heaters will not cure the disease, but it would be a stop-gap measure until more is known about the fungus. David Blehert, who first identified white-nose syndrome, said that the fungus is not spread from bat to bat in the summer because it needs cold to thrive. Blehert is a researcher with the US Geological Survey Wildlife Health Center.

No one knows if the heaters will make a significant difference, but a pilot study is being funded with a $28,000 grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The test will be conducted in a cave in Manitoba, Canada.

Blehert said that the problem is so critical that it makes sense to at least test the hypothesis.

See Indiana Bats Dying from Mysterious Mold
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Mason County May Get Bat Study Tower

Indiana Bat (photo by US Fish & Wildlife Service)

based on a news article in the Ludington Daily News, "Consumers seeking OK for bat study tower," by Brian Mulherin, Mar 10, 2009

Consumers Energy is seeking approval for a tower to record bat vocalizations in Riverton Township, Mason County. Dennis Marvin of CE said that they would be attempting to identify the endangered Indiana Bat. The tower would be fitted with an acoustical devise that measures frequencies of sound. In this way they can determine if the bats are in the area.

The Indiana Bat reaches the northern edge of its range in Manistee County. They have been observed at Tippy Dam, and in Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness.

Consumers Energy needs to conduct the study as part of an environmental impact analysis, because they hope to place wind turbines in the area. The Lake Michigan shoreline is prime real estate for wind power. But it is not known if the bats migrate through Mason County. There numbers here have never been counted.

Dr. Allen Kurta of Eastern Michigan University is serving as an advisor to Consumers Energy. So little is known about the bats because no banded or tagged bats have ever been returned. One theory is that the bats follow the shoreline.

Interestingly enough the bats are harmed most by wind turbines operating at low speeds. Only about half of bats killed by turbines are struck by the blades. The rest suffer hemorrhages in their lungs, apparently because of the pressure wave caused by the moving blades. Kurta said that this needs to be verified.

The bats are endangered due to habitat loss. Many of the caves that were natural homes to the Indiana Bats were developed as tourist attractions in the 1950s and 1960s. In many cases this raised the cave temperature just enough to make them unsuitable for the small bats.

Indiana Bat pairs only produce one or two young a year. This is a slow reproduction rate and wind turbines may kill more bats each year than are born.

See Indiana Bats Dying from Mysterious Mold
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Indiana Bats Dying from Mysterious Mold

Indiana Bat photo by Dr. J. Scott Altenbach from the MD DNR

In response to information about a mysterious illness that has been associated with the deaths of more than 8,000 bats, conservation groups today asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to close all bat hibernation sites and withdraw all federal permits to "take" — that is, harm or kill — imperiled bats until the cause of the deaths is understood. One species of bat that is at risk is the endangered Indiana bat.

While details are limited, scientists have given the name "white-nose syndrome" to describe a Fusarium mold that is exhibited around the dead bats’ noses. The syndrome is associated with the discovery of thousands of dead bats in at least two Albany, New York-area caves last winter. The two caves apparently lost over half their populations. This winter the "white-nose syndrome" has been found on a bat in a Vermont cave.

"Throughout the years, we have warned that the Indiana bat was one catastrophe from extinction. The public needs to know what the Fish and Wildlife Service is doing to meet this immediate threat, " said Mark Donham, program director for Heartwood.

The Indiana bat is one of the most endangered terrestrial mammals in the world. It was first listed under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. At least 700 individuals of this endangered and legally protected species have died in New York in the past 18 months. It is unknown if white-nose syndrome is the cause of the death or a symptom of what causes the death.

"Regardless of why these bats are dying, we must prepare for the worst," said Leigh Haynie, staff attorney for Center for Biological Diversity. "The Missouri and Kentucky populations of Indiana bats have been decimated; if the Vermont and New York populations of this endangered species are also dying, the Fish and Wildlife Service must take immediate emergency action to ensure this species does not go extinct. These are dire circumstances. The agency must act with all due haste."

The Manistee National Forest is considered to be the northernmost edge of its range.     - editor

a press release of the Center for Biological Diversity, "Mysterious Disease Threatens Survival of North American Bats; Conservation Groups Ask for Immediate Protections", Jan 29, 2008
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