If you see bats, please report them and help track the status of Nova Scotia’s bat population.

Nova Scotians can report bat sightings at ,http://www.batconservation.ca or by calling 1-866-727-3447 (toll-free). Last year, more than 1,000 bat sightings were reported to the website and hotline, which are hosted by the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute.

“This year, we are also asking the public to help us monitor roosting sites, where bats congregate to birth and raise their young,” said Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute wildlife biologist Brad Toms. “People who reported roosting sites, either this year or last, are being asked to monitor those sites twice this year, once in July and once in August. It will only take about an hour, from just before sunset to just after dark.”

White-nose syndrome, a fatal infection caused by a cold-climate fungus, has killed millions of bats throughout northeastern North America in just a few years.

After a 95 per cent decline at five mainland winter hibernation sites, the government designated the little brown Myotis, the northern Myotis and the tri-coloured bat under the Nova Scotia Endangered Species Act last year.

Although there is no proven danger to humans from white-nose syndrome, bats can carry diseases and people should not handle them.

More information on monitoring roosting sites can be found on the website.

Source: Release