The America's National Parks Podcast is sponsored by L.L.Bine believes the more time you spend

outside together, the better.

That's why they design products that make it easier to take longer walks, have deeper talks,

and never worry about the weather.

Discover clothing, outer wear to wear, and gear made for every type of adventure, with the outside

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Because on the inside, we're all outsiders.

Be an outsider with L.L. Bean. It's always interesting to me that I get the question a lot like what do bats do but

then when I work with other animals you never really get like what what do bears

do or what do wolves do or you know what do butterflies do.

We often do this when we go down on the scale of body size for wildlife we typically

they have to have a purpose or a function that benefits humans but here in

the national park these bats have just they have the right to exist through a wildlife

resource that belong to the people and they're a very unique and diverse resource. The National Park Service manages 84 million acres in

419 parks, one of four of which have caves, and one of three of which have caves and one of three of which have mines.

Many of these caves and mines provide habitat for hibernating bats.

Bats are an essential part of many American ecosystems, but they're under threat from a hidden

illness called White Nose Syndrome. Since 2006, this fungal disease has killed millions of bats in North America.

In some caves and mines, 90 to 100 percent of bat populations have died.

Parks and more than half of the United States are affected by the presence of White Nose Syndrome.

Losing an important predator so quickly may have a drastic effect on the

ecology of a given park.

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