A newly discovered colony of little brown bats is giving the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources a reason to celebrate.
According to a release, scientists have found a colony — in a location that’s being kept secret — of about 300 healthy female little brown bats and their young.
The bats are thriving in their home, which is said to be the biggest maternity colony in the province.
Why is this such a big deal? Because little brown bat populations in the Maritimes have been suffering in recent years, as the devastating disease white-nose syndrome has almost completely depleted them.
READ MORE: White-nose syndrome threatening bats across Canada
It’s estimated white-nose syndrome has killed about seven million bats in eastern North America.
“This discovery is very significant as the recovery potential of our bats depends on the number of healthy females,” Natural Resources Minister Lloyd Hines said in a release.
“Every bat sighting provides important information to scientists and we encourage people to report observations of bats each time one is seen.”
Bats can eat up to their body weight in insects each night — that’s about 1,000 to 3,000 mosquitoes.
White-nose syndrome appears like a fuzzy growth on the nose of a bat. The deadly disease spreads from bat to bat, cave to cave.
The fungus damages the bat’s wings, which are crucial to their winter survival as they help maintain water and blood pressure levels during hibernation.
Because this process is interrupted, the bats wake up frequently during their hibernation period in search of water and food. However, because it’s winter, the food they normally eat, insects, aren’t available and they end up dying of starvation and/or hypothermia.
If you spot bats, the Department of National Resources asks that you report your sighting by visiting the website www.batconservation.ca or by calling 1-866-727-3447.