The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is aware of the serious threat posed by White-nose Syndrome (WNS), an infectious disease found only in bats, to our state’s bat populations.
Winter surveillance and monitoring efforts on select caves for WNS in Oklahoma began in 2010. Monitoring activities include swabbing bats to collect DNA evidence of the fungus, looking for the physical presence of the fungus, installing data loggers to collect humidity and temperature readings within hibernation sites, collecting tissue and blood samples from hibernating bats, and collecting soil samples. At times, bat specimens are collected for sample submission to certified laboratories when surveying bat hibernacula or for evaluating unusual bat morbidity or mortality during the winter. Winter surveillance efforts are conducted through the efforts of Rogers State University, University of Central Oklahoma, Central Oklahoma Grotto, Tulsa Regional Oklahoma Grotto, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, United States Forestry Service, Alabaster Caverns State Park, East Central University, Karst Research Institute, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
The fungus associated with the disease was first detected in Oklahoma in 2015 in a privately owned cave in Delaware County. The disease was confirmed in that same cave in 2017. See the current status of white-nose syndrome in the below links.
To provide guidance on preventing the spread of the fungus and the disease and provide further information about the disease, the Wildlife Department has developed the following documents:
- Recommendations and Suggested Best Management Practices to Address White-nose Syndrome in Oklahoma
- Frequently Asked Questions about White-nose Syndrome in Oklahoma
- Bats Love Caves and So Do We
More information about bats can be found in the "Bats of Oklahoma Field Guide" and at the annual Selman Bat Watch.