Invasive, deadly fungus affecting bats found in Rocky Mountain National Park
DENVER (KDVR) — An invasive fungus has been detected in bats at Rocky Mountain National Park.
In a Thursday press release from the national park, tests done by the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed the fungus known as Pseudogymnoascus destructans, or Pd, has been detected in bats in the Holzwarth Historic Site on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.
According to the park, this is the first confirmed detection of the fungus in Grand County.
Pd is described as an invasive fungus that causes white-nose syndrome — a deadly and infectious disease that impacts bats.
'Any new detection of Pd is worrisome because bats are vital for healthy ecosystems. Rocky Mountain National Park is home to nine known species of bats, five of which have been found living in areas above 11,000 feet,' said Rocky Mountain National Park in a press release.
How much snow will fall in the high country this weekend?
While white-nose syndrome does not pose a risk to humans, people can spread the disease.
Following the detection, Rocky Mountain National Park has provided protection tips to visitors. The park asks people to report dead or injured bats to park personnel. The park also said people should never touch a bat, because they could carry other dangerous diseases aside from white-nose syndrome.
If you do visit a cave or bat habitat, Rocky Mountain National Park recommends you properly decontaminate gear and outerwear.
The national park said white-nose syndrome was first confirmed in 2022 in southeastern Colorado, it has also been confirmed in Larimer County.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Acquisitions, Licensing Deals Take Centerstage in Pharma/Biotech Space
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) have picked up significant pace in 2025 in the pharma/biotech sector after a passive run in 2024. The recent spree of acquisitions signifies a focus on portfolio expansion and constant pipeline innovation, given the changing landscape and spotlight on AI-driven drug discovery. Simultaneously, bigwigs in the space also enter into licensing deals and collaborations for a promising drug/candidate to strengthen and expand their portfolios in their respective core areas. Pharma giant Sanofi SNY recently announced that it will acquire Blueprint Medicines for a total deal value of up to $9.5 billion to expand its portfolio in rare immunological disease and add an early-stage pipeline in immunology. The impending acquisition will add Blueprint Medicines' only marketed product, Ayvakit (avapritinib), an inhibitor of KIT and PDGFRA proteins, to Sanofi's commercial portfolio. Bristol Myers Squibb BMY recently announced a strategic collaboration agreement with BioNTech for the global co-development and co-commercialization of the latter's investigational bispecific antibody BNT327 across numerous solid tumor types. BNT327, a next-generation bispecific antibody candidate, targets PD-L1 and VEGF-A. Per the terms, BMY will make an upfront payment of $1.5 billion to BioNTech. In addition, BioNTech will also receive $2 billion in non-contingent anniversary payments through 2028. Developing bispecific antibodies that target two proteins, namely PD-1 and VEGF, has lately been one of the lucrative areas in cancer treatment, attracting other pharma giants as well. In May 2025, Pfizer inked a licensing agreement with 3SBio for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of SSGJ-707, a bispecific antibody targeting PD-1 and VEGF, outside China. While oncology and immuno-oncology companies have always been at the top of acquisition targets, the lucrative obesity sector and gene-editing space are also being eyed. Last week, Regeneron REGN entered into an in-licensing agreement for an obesity drug with Hansoh Pharmaceuticals Group Company Limited, in a bid to expand its clinical-stage obesity portfolio. The licensing agreement with Hansoh Pharma provides Regeneron with HS-20094, a GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist. Consolidation has long been a central focus in the pharma/biotech industry. This is because leading companies constantly look to diversify their revenue base in the face of dwindling sales of their high-profile drugs. Acquisitions also make sense as developing a drug/technology from scratch is costly and risky. In April, pharma giant Johnson & Johnson acquired Intra-Cellular Therapies for approximately $14.6 billion and added antidepressant drug, Caplyta, to its neuroscience portfolio. Swiss pharma bigwig Novartis NVS, too, has been on an acquisition spree. Novartis is all set to acquire San Diego-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Regulus Therapeutics to strengthen its renal disease portfolio. Regulus' lead asset, farabursen, is a potential first-in-class, next-generation oligonucleotide targeting miR-17 for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. In April, Germany-based Merck KGaA announced that it will acquire SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. for $3.9 billion to expand business in the United States. SpringWorks Therapeutics, a U.S.-based biopharma company, has a portfolio that comprises a first-in-class, systemic standard-of-care therapy in adults with desmoid tumors and the first and only approved therapy for adults and children with neurofibromatosis type 1-associated plexiform neurofibromas. We expect M&A activity to accelerate further in 2025, given the massive cash reserve owned by major pharma and biotech companies. These companies will also look to utilize innovative technology to develop breakthrough treatments rapidly as the landscape evolves. Moreover, smaller biotechs often lack the necessary funds to successfully develop a drug and commercialize thereafter. The recent spotlight on the usage of AI technology for drug discovery should lure investment in this industry. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Sanofi (SNY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Novartis AG (NVS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMY) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Miami Herald
35 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Battle to eradicate invasive pythons in Florida achieves stunning milestone
A startling milestone has been reached in Florida's war against the invasive Burmese pythons eating their way across the Everglades. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida reports it has captured and humanely killed 20 tons of the snakes since 2013, including a record 6,300 pounds of pythons killed this past breeding season, according to a June 9 news release. To put that in perspective, 20 tons — or 40,000 pounds — is a mound of snakes the size of a fire truck ... or a fully loaded city bus. What's startling is those 1,400 snakes didn't come from a statewide culling. They came from a 200-square-mile area in southwestern Florida, the conservancy reports. The greater Everglades ecosystem, where the snakes are thriving, covers more than 7,800 square miles, according to wildlife biologist Ian Bartoszek, the Conservancy Science Project Manager who oversees the python program. It's estimated tens of thousands of pythons are roaming the region, the U.S. Geological Survey says. 'I guess the real question is what did it take in native animals to make 20 tons of python? ... It still amazes me how big these animals get and how many of them are out there,' Bartoszek told McClatchy News in a phone interview. 'Pythons have indeterminate growth and the more they eat, the larger they become. On this project we have captured the largest female by weight at just under 18 (feet) but weighing a massive 215 pounds and the largest male at 16 (feet) and 140 pounds. Their size is a reflection of the available prey base. We probably grow them larger in Southwest Florida because we still have deer and medium-sized mammals for them to prey upon. In portions of the eastern Everglades, it is likely the reverse.' University of Florida researchers have identified 85 species of birds and mammals (including reptiles) that are being eaten by pythons in the Everglades, leading to fears they are decimating some native mammal populations, Bartoszek says. Southwestern Florida's wetlands are like a buffet for pythons, putting the region and the conservancy on the front lines. It's only with the help of technology that the conservancy has gained ground since starting the python program in 2013, Bartoszek says. This includes a scout snake program that fits radio telemetry trackers on 40 male pythons, so they can be tracked to reproductive females during mating season (November through April). Those females are humanely euthanized and the tagged males are freed to track down more females. The program has prevented more than 20,000 python eggs from hatching, the conservancy says. 'Long-term monitoring has shown signs of positive effectiveness of these efforts, as scout snakes increasingly struggle to locate mates or the females they find are smaller in size,' the conservancy says. Bartoszek's team, which includes biologist Ian Easterling, made headlines in 2024 when it walked up on a 115-pound python swallowing a 77-pound deer. That amounted to 66.9% of the snake's body mass and proved they are eating larger prey in Florida. The female python captured and swallowed the live deer in less than an hour, the team concluded. Among the other disconcerting discoveries made: The snakes are expanding their range. They are well established in counties along Florida's southeastern and southwestern coasts and sightings are now being reported near Lake Okeechobee, Bartoszek says. That's about a 110-mile drive northwest from Miami. 'The Burmese python always continues to surprise me and I have an internal memory reel of all the firsts we have seen on the project. The most visceral ones are when we see first hand what they are consuming,' Bartoszek said. 'But those are counterbalanced by seeing native wildlife fighting back, like when we discovered a bobcat that had predated upon one of our scout snakes. Or when we had tracked hatchling pythons over many summers and would eventually be tracking the predators that consumed them, including an endangered eastern Indigo snake. Those feels like wins for the home team when you get to see the Everglades fighting back.' Burmese pythons are native to southeastern Asia, but they began appearing in Florida in the 1970s, according to the South Florida Water Management District. It's suspected the snakes were pets, and they were either released by their owners or escaped captivity, the district says. 'The Burmese python is decimating native wildlife across their invaded range. ... The python team's work of reducing the local population of the invasive snake allows our native wildlife safer conditions to recover,' said Rob Moher, Conservancy of Southwest Florida president and CEO. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida is an environmental organization based in Naples that works to protect natural resources and wildlife in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. It collaborates with the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, University of Florida, Florida Fish and Wildlife, South Florida Water Management District, Rookery Bay Research Reserve and Naples Zoo.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Yazoo County middle school teacher selected as 2025 National Stem Scholar
YAZOO COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – Yazoo County middle school teacher Melanie Hardy was selected for the 2025 National Stem Scholar Program. 10 scholars are chosen to study science, technology, engineering and math at Western Kentucky University for a week, as well as develop a project. 'I actually screamed and then I began texting our principal and my family to let them know because this has been a lifelong dream,' said Hardy. The middle school science and math teacher says, her project is to do a year-long study of the Mississippi River and how it has changed over time. In April 2026, she will travel to Anaheim, California to present her project at the National Science Teacher's Association Conference. This is the second time that Hardy has applied for the program. The program is open to middle school science teachers. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
