New Brunswick Museum zoologist Donald McAlpine tells CHSJ News since 2006 the 3 most common bat species in New Brunswick have been wiped out by a fungus known as white nose syndrome.
He says that number has dropped from more than 7000 to just 79 and they are expecting that by next winter that the overwintering population in the province will be essentially gone.
White nose syndrome was probably introduced to the bats here by cavers from Europe, where the fungus originates. There's no known cure.