These bulldog-looking bats shouldn’t be this far north. But, over the last five years or so, citizen scientists have seen them in D.C.’s night sky on a constant basis.

It was just earlier this week that Prince George’s County was warning its residents of a marked increase in rabid bat activity, and now the District of Columbia Department of Health is following suit. The rabid bat menace has reached D.C.’s borders. A reported 13 bats caught by D.C. officials have tested positive for rabies recently, most of them discovered inside people’s homes. Residents are urged to “bat proof” their homes by closing windows…

Bats can do more than shape-shift and turn you into a vampire — they can also give you rabies! And Prince George’s County health officials are now warning residents that they’ve recorded an increase in rabid bat activity in the area, the Post reports. Nine PG County bats have tested positive for rabies since the beginning of August, and at least one person has come into contact with one and been subsequently preemptively treated…

Photo by Karon Are bats the new honeybees? They have been disappearing by the colony in the Northeast over the last three years, killed by white nose syndrome — a fearsome fungus that strikes bats while they are hibernating. Now, bats in Virginia and West Virginia have been discovered with the tell-tale white fuzz on their muzzles and wings. The Washington Post reports that white nose syndrome has infected colonies at Breathing Cave in…