Mysterious illness killing bats in U.S.

Thousands of bats are dying from an unknown illness in the Northeast at a rate that could cause extinction, New York state wildlife officials said this week.

At eight caves in New York and one in Vermont, scientists have seen bat populations plummet over two years.

A cave that had 1,300 bats in January 2006 had 470 bats last year. It recently sheltered just 38 mostly underweight bats.

At another cave, more than 90% of about 15,500 bats have died since 2005, and two-thirds that remain now sleep near the cave’s entrance, where conditions are less hospitable.