On Monday and Tuesday, I had the opportunity to go to Fern Cave with Bat Conservation
International.
Fern Cave is in Val Verde county in West Texas, a drive of perhaps 6
hours. Our group consisted of Jim Kennedy (BCI biologist), Leejay
Graves (Caver), myself, Missy Young (Caver), Missy's boyfriend Tanner,
and Sophia Angelo (intern w/ BCI).
These are a handful of pix I took.
We stopped at the roadside to place a cell phone call. Tanner caught this frog that Missy is holding in this picture.
Here is Jim Kennedy on the other side of the main entrance to Fern Cave. We didn't rappel into the main entrance because there were smaller entrances more conducive to a drop. There was another reason we didn't drop into this entrance which should become apparent in the next picture.
I'm covered in bees!
Here is four of our six protagonists at the main entrance. We'll see a picture of the main entrance from the inside shortly . . . .
Either Tanner or Missy caught this Texas Horned Lizard. It blends well with its surroundings.
Don't mess with Missy.
Bat emergence from the main entrance. I can just hear what the bats are saying . . . "I'm covered in bees!"
My camera doesn't do the emergence justice. Hopefully Jim's camera will have captured the moment better.
A green cricket.
Fern Cave entrance from within the cave.
Fern Cave entrance from within the cave.
I took this picture right under the entrance. You can see the ferns for which this cave is named.
Fern Cave, being a bat cave, is filled with guano. Thus, many of the formations are not as "pretty" as you see in "show caves." Still, there were some interesting things to see, like this pile of decomposing calcite.
These are a handful of pix I took.
We stopped at the roadside to place a cell phone call. Tanner caught this frog that Missy is holding in this picture.
Here is Jim Kennedy on the other side of the main entrance to Fern Cave. We didn't rappel into the main entrance because there were smaller entrances more conducive to a drop. There was another reason we didn't drop into this entrance which should become apparent in the next picture.
I'm covered in bees!
Here is four of our six protagonists at the main entrance. We'll see a picture of the main entrance from the inside shortly . . . .
Either Tanner or Missy caught this Texas Horned Lizard. It blends well with its surroundings.
Don't mess with Missy.
Bat emergence from the main entrance. I can just hear what the bats are saying . . . "I'm covered in bees!"
My camera doesn't do the emergence justice. Hopefully Jim's camera will have captured the moment better.
A green cricket.
Fern Cave entrance from within the cave.
Fern Cave entrance from within the cave.
I took this picture right under the entrance. You can see the ferns for which this cave is named.
Fern Cave, being a bat cave, is filled with guano. Thus, many of the formations are not as "pretty" as you see in "show caves." Still, there were some interesting things to see, like this pile of decomposing calcite.