Bats are in trouble

A fungal infection is killing bats and threatening the entire ecosystem.

Little brown bat. The little brown bat (sometimes called little brown myotis) (Myotis lucifugus) is a species of the genus Myotis (mouse-eared bats), one of the most common bats of North America. The little brown bat has been a model organism for studying bats. (Credit Getty Images)

By Danny McCarthy

Bats are in trouble. A fungal infection affecting hibernating bats is creeping across the country. Bats, creepy though they might be, provide vital services to the environment: they disperse seeds to deforested areas, they reduce pesticide use through the amount of bugs they eat, and they are pollinators.

Reporter: Danny McCarthy