PSA: Do you know of any bat roosts in the North Slave Region? Please report!! White Nose Syndrome in the NWT

White-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease threatening bats across North America, has recently been detected in the Northwest Territories (NWT) for the first time. The disease was found during bat monitoring conducted in May 2026. White-nose syndrome was confirmed in a northern myotis bat near Fort Smith, at a site that is also used by little brown myotis and big brown bats. Additionally, the fungus that causes WNS was detected in bat guano at Hay River.

WNS is a disease that affects hibernating bats. It is caused by a fungus called Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) that infects the skin of bats while they’re hibernating and causes them to burn up fat they need to survive the winter. The disease has caused significant bat mortality across North America, with millions of bats lost and mortality rates reaching 90 to 100 percent at some sites.

Bats eat large numbers of insects and play an important role in ecosystems, so their loss can lead to significant ecological impacts. WNS does not pose a risk to other animals or to human health. The Pd fungus is a non-native species that was accidentally introduced to North America. It has been spreading across North America since 2006, primarily through the bat-to-bat and bat-to-roost contact that occurs during the natural movements of bats.

The NWT is part of coordinated national surveillance efforts to track its spread, with support from the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) and the WNS Small Grants Program. Surveillance efforts have included collecting and testing guano (feces), swabbing captured bats, submitting dead bats for disease testing, and encouraging the public to report unusual bat observations.

The arrival of Pd and WNS in the NWT was expected given rapid spread across Canada and recent detections in northern Alberta. Wildlife managers have been working to guide staff and management partners in planning and implementing actions to address the disease when it arrived in the NWT.

Further spread of Pd within the NWT is expected. Over time, it may reach and affect bat populations across the territory. The ultimate impacts of WNS on bat populations in the NWT are uncertain, as this is the first time that the disease has reached this far north. However, anticipated effects include bat mortalities at hibernation sites and declines in our bat populations. Both have the potential to be severe.

Among the NWT bat species most vulnerable to WNS are the little brown myotis and the northern myotis. Both species are currently listed as species of Special Concern under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act, primarily because of the threat posed by WNS. Management is guided by the Management Plan for Bats in the NWT (2020)

https://www.nwtspeciesatrisk.ca/sites/default/files/bats_management_plan_final_8april2020.pdf  as well as the National Recovery Strategy for Little Brown Myotis and Northern Myotis (2018) https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/plans/Rs-TroisChauveSourisThreeBats-v01-2019Nov-Eng.pdf .

The Department of Environment and Climate Change (ECC), in partnership with the Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (the Sahtú Renewable Resources Board), the Wek’èezhı̀ı Renewable Resources Board, and the Tłı̨chǫ Government, is implementing the Management Plan for Bats in the NWT through the Conference of Management Authorities

https://www.nwtspeciesatrisk.ca/en/conference-management-authorities .

Objective 2 of this plan focuses on monitoring, mitigating, and managing WNS, including preparation and response measures.

There is currently no known cure for WNS, so management focuses on reducing other kinds of harm to bats and supporting resilient populations that will be better able to deal with the effects of disease.

Please report any bat sightings, particularly when the bats may be acting strangely to your local or regional ECC office https://www.gov.nt.ca/ecc/en/regional-offices  or WildlifeObs@gov.nt.ca .

Alternatively, please contact Orna (orna.phelan@nsma.net) and she can pass the info along 

For the latest information on WNS across Canada, refer to:

• The WNS Spread Map showing the spread of WNS across North America: https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/where-is-white-nose-syndrome ; and

• Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative website showing WNS Reports and Maps: https://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/white_nose_syndrome_reports_and_maps.php .