Some bats have white noses, and that's a sign of a disease that’s killed millions of bats across North America. Now it's arrived in California. White-nose syndrome is caused by a fungus that grows on the animal’s nose and wings while it hibernates.
White-nose syndrome reaches California, threatens bats
Little brown bat with white-nose syndrome in Greeley Mine, Vermont, March 26, 2009. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.