A dead bat found at Banff’s Cave and Basin has tested positive for rabies.
Parks Canada officials say a silver-haired bat was observed displaying abnormal behaviour at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site on the afternoon of Aug. 30.
“One of the staff observed the bat was flopping around on the trail and wasn’t able to fly properly,” said Bill Hunt, resource conservation manager for Banff National Park.
“It was picked up with gloves and moved to a site well out of the way to ensure it was safe from visitors and wasn’t going to get poked or prodded. A few hours later it was found deceased.”
Parks Canada sent the bat for testing through the Alberta Public Health department.
“We’ve had six or eight different bats reported and they’ve all come back negative, but this particular animal tested positive for rabies,” said Hunt.
“To my knowledge, this is the first positive rabies result in Banff in at least 20 years. It’s certainly more prevalent in other parts of the country, but certainly in Alberta it’s rare.”
Rabies, transferred through saliva, is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system and brain of animals and people. While rabies can be fatal to people, contracting rabies from a bat is extremely rare.
In Canada, bats, foxes, and skunks are the most common transmitters of the disease.
While bats should not be feared, caution should be taken.
Dr. Judy MacDonald, medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services’ Calgary zone, said the first step to protect against rabies is for people is to stay away from all wild animals, including bats, in the first place, and never handle a dead animal.
She said if bitten or scratched it’s important for people to immediately wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and to get medical attention as soon as possible.
“It’s important to remember that with a bite from an animal – wild animal or not – it’s important to get assessed,” said MacDonald.
“The vaccines are very effective and prevent rabies infection from even developing. It is virtually universally fatal if you don’t get treatment.”
The last Canadian to die from rabies was Albertan Emil Fuyarchuk, in 2007. He was bitten in his sleep by a bat in his rural Alberta home east of Edmonton. He didn’t seek treatment and was dead eight months later.
Bats bite less than a handful of Albertans each year. So far this year in Alberta, there were two other confirmed cases of rabid bats, and this one in Banff marks the third case. Last year, 10 bats tested positive for rabies.
“We don’t have a lot, but every year there may be some,” said MacDonald, who noted there was also a bat in Canmore that tested positive for rabies several years ago.
According to the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency, the public can also reduce the spread of rabies through responsible vaccination of pets, as well as informing authorities when an animal is suspected of having the disease.
Parks Canada asks visitors to respect wildlife protected in the national park.
“That means never touching, approaching or enticing wildlife, even if the animal appears sick or injured,” said Natalie Fay, a spokesperson for Parks Canada.
“If residents or visitors observe an animal acting abnormally, they are not to approach the animal and should immediately report to Banff Dispatch at 403-762-1470.”
Meanwhile, silver-haired bats are medium sized bats, and while distributed throughout North America, the species is most abundant in the northern Rockies. They appear to present in southern Alberta during the spring and fall migrations.
“It’s fairly rare in terms of sightings here,” said Hunt.
