NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On this Friday the 13th, spooky creatures like bats may come to mind. But, bats have had plenty to fear themselves in the past 15 years. A disease called white-nose syndrome has almost wiped out entire species in Tennessee. But, at least one type of bat is making an exciting comeback.
With its 12,000 caves, Tennessee is a bat’s paradise.
“More caves than any other state. Really special in that regard,” said Dustin Thames, Region 2 biodiversity coordinator, TWRA.
And Thames says those caves are starting to come alive again as some species like tricolored bats are making a comeback.
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“We think tricolored bat populations have increased about 20% over the past three years. So it is an incredible increase,” said Thames. “For tricolored bats, we are cautiously optimistic. I think they are going to recover pretty well.”
But it wasn’t always looking promising for the bats. In 2009, a fungal pathogen called white-nose syndrome first hit bats in the Northeast and spread here to Tennessee.