Bat in Banff tests positive for rabies, first in more than 20 years

Parks Canada is asking visitors to Banff National Park to watch the skies for bats "not acting normally"after onetested positive for rabies last week.

Thecase of rabies was confirmedlast Fridayafter park officials sent the body of a dead bat for testing.

Bill Hunt, Parks Canada resource conservation manager with the Banff field unit,saiddead bats found in Banff aresent for testingas a precaution, addingthis is the first positive case of a rabid bat in the park inmore than 20 years.

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"In this particular case, we were quite surprised that it came back with a positive result," Hunt said.

"If you look historically in Alberta, there's a number of cases each year.Typically in Alberta, it's involving bats. Across Canada, those numbers vary a lot and include skunks and other animals."

Hunt said visitors to the park should be on the look out for bats flying around during daylight hours or bats who appear having difficulty flying. These are signs the animal may have rabies.

Visitors who see a bat with these symptoms or have encounters with wildlife are asked to call theBanff Dispatch line at 403-762-1407.

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