Artificial Cave Created for Bats - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.

Over 5 million bats have died across 19 states, due to white nose syndrome, or WNS, a fungus that infects cave dwelling bat populations.

Now conservationists in Tennessee are testing out a new way to protect the bats from the debilitating fungus.

By constructing a man made bat cave, they hope that a nearby bat population will move into the new space, allowing them greater control to treat the disease in the artificial environment. The bats provide free and natural pest control to the farmers and are a valuable part of the ecosystem that needs to be protected.

Director of the Cave and Karst Program for the Nature Conservancy in Tennessee, Cory Holliday says: "We have lots of things that can kill this fungus and are able to control it, but not in a natural cave environment. Natural caves are very complex ecosystems with a lot of things living in there.”

Man made bat habitats have been a successful way to preserve free tailed bat populations in Texas and elsewhere.

What are some other interesting animal conservation projects you have come across?