University of Winnipeg wants you to join 'Neighbourhood Bat Watch'
Crowd-sourced initiative tracks bat colonies in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba

The University of Winnipeg's Bat Lab wants Manitobans to help collect data on an endangered species. Neighbourhood Bat Watch uses the crowd-sourced information to help conservation efforts.
Colonies are marked using a Google map. The university's Bat Lab led the website's creation, along with support from the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science and the Quebec Government.
Millions of bats have died in the past decade in North America because of white-nose syndrome. The fungal infection has hit eastern Canada particularly hard.
White-nose syndrome is responsible for killing nearly 99 per cent of bats in New Brunswick. It has been spotted in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia. So far, the syndrome has not turned up in Manitoba, according to the Bat Lab, but it spreads further west every year.

Common bat species are nocturnal and tend to be difficult to spot, the university said, so backyard science is key to figuring out how many of the bug-eaters are left.
The Canadian government has listed three bat species as endangered animals: little brown, northern long-eared bats, and tri-coloured bats. While generally harmless, bats can carry rabies so people are advised not to try to touch them.
Comments
To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.
By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.