An article in the April issue of Texas Observer asks just that question. Merlin Tuttle, founder of Bat Conservation International, and BCI staff members are worried by what might be the answer. A spreading fungal disease first noticed in bats in New England is decimating bat populations across the U.S., and proliferating wind energy projects are killing an estimated 100,000 bats a year in Texas alone. Texas is home to over a dozen species of bats.