White Nose Confirmed in Smokies

Biologists in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have confirmed that two bats found in a park cave have white-nose syndrome. The fungus that causes the disease had been found earlier in the Smokies.

The malady has caused a massive die-off of bats in Eastern portions of the United States, and it has been detected in recent months in some caves in Kentucky. National Park Spokesman Bob Miller issed a statement, revealing that a tricolored bat and a little brown bat located in a park cave have been found to have the disease. The name "white-nose" comes from the fact that a white fungus forms on the faces of many infected bats. The actual cause of death from the syndrome isn't known and there is no known cure for the disease.