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| Twelve
species of bats have been recorded within Deer Cave, including a colony
of free-tailed bats – the Wrinkle-Lipped Bat (Chaerephon plicata),
numbers of which have been estimated at between 2.5 and 3.5 million.
Each evening these bats make a massive exodus from the cave forming
large ring-shaped formations outside the cave mouth before moving
out across the rainforest in spiralling ribbons. The bats are frequently
pursued by Bat Hawks (Macheiramphus alcinus), which often succeed
in capturing a bat and consuming it in flight. It has been estimated that each bat consumes between five and ten grams of flying insects each night, which means that up to two million bats will return to the cave each night with between 10 and 20 tons of food matter in their guts. This accounts for the dynamic ecosystem found within the cave, which sees a massive flow of energy from the surrounding rainforest each day and the deposition of large amounts of guano within the cave. It also makes one consider the dramatic impact that the bats must have upon the insect population numbers in the region. |
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