Cub Run Cave

In 1950, two young boys in Cub Run, KY made an intriguing discovery: a small hole in a rock outcropping was emitting freezing cold air.

Their suspicions that they'd discovered a cave were confirmed as they hacked apart the rocks to make the hole big enough to crawl into. They found themselves in a mud-filled passageway, and crawled 60 feet further to find the tunnel opened up into a large chamber with more passages going off into darkness.

Excitedly, they went back to tell everyone what they'd found. Unfortunately, you can always leave it to grown-ups to screw up a good thing. The underground cave system sprawled beneath more than one person's property, and a bitter dispute between landowners erupted. Unable to come to any agreement on how to share the cave, they instead sealed it back up and put it out of their minds for the next 55 years.

Thankfully, Cub Run Cave was finally reopened and made available to the public in 2006. It's one of only four caves in the United States to have a rare formation called "Box Work", and hosts a plethora of critters such as cave crawfish, lizards, cave crickets and three different species of bats.

See more images of Cub Run Cave here.

Is White-Nose Bat Syndrome in KY or Not?

On June 6th, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review published a story about the mysterious and incurable White-Nose Bat Syndrome being found in bats in Kentucky, within 30 miles of Mammoth Cave.

On June 7th, that story was subsequently picked up by the Lexington Herald-Leader's kentucky.com:

White-nose syndrome, a fatal and mysterious disease that is killing bats, has been found in Kentucky, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. A group of researchers met in Pittsburgh to discuss the disease, but "they left without any more solutions with which they arrived," reports the Tribune-Review. The disease has been confirmed within 30 miles of Mammoth Cave, Cal DuBrock, director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's bureau of wildlife management said to the newspaper.

Now today, the Herald-Leader seems to be backtracking. The original story on kentucky.com has disappeared but can still be found in the Google cache, and the paper is now saying the incident in question is in Tennessee, about 80 miles from Mammoth Cave, not 30. Regarding the discrepancy, the paper has this to say:

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on June 6 that the disease had been confirmed within 30 miles of Mammoth Cave and that Mammoth Cave is home to some of the largest bat concentrations in the country. Both of those statements are inaccurate, Carson said.

To say that white-nose syndrome has been found within 30 miles of Mammoth Cave would have to mean it's been found in Kentucky, which it hasn't, Hemberger said.

Cal DuBrock, director of wildlife management for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, was the Tribune-Review's source for both pieces of information about Mammoth Cave. DuBrock said when he told the Tribune-Review that information, he was citing a presentation at a white-nose syndrome conference he attended in Pittsburgh.

The presenter said that a case of white-nose syndrome was found 26 miles from Mammoth Cave and that there was a fairly high concentration of bats there.

There must have been a misquote or misstatement on someone's part, DuBrock said.

Death in Sloans Valley Cave

From the Courier-Journal:

TATEVILLE, Ky. — A man slipped into a deep pit and was killed Wednesday while exploring a treacherous southeastern Kentucky cave, officials said.

Crews worked for hours to recover the body of Steven Troxell, 21, who died of blunt force trauma, said Pulaski County Coroner Richard New.

Troxell and two companions were walking inside the Sloans Valley cave when he fell into the cone-shaped, 30-foot-deep pit. His companions called 911 about 3 p.m., officials said. The coroner said the three were not experienced cavers.

The opening to the cave is located on private property, and it was not clear whether the owners were aware anyone was exploring it, New said.

Troxell's body was found about three-quarters of a mile inside the cave, which is part of a system that meanders about 25 miles beneath private and public lands in a part of Kentucky known for its outdoor recreation. The system is one of the longest in the world.

“It's probably one of the most treacherous caves in the county and probably in the cave system,” New said.

The photos shown here were found on ElZorroTOX's Tabblo, and I noticed they have a photo of a bat in the cave that seems to have traces of the mystery bat-attacking fungus beginning to grow on its ears.

Street Bat

And finally, from my recent visit to Georgetown, a flattened dead bat I encountered on N. Hamilton. He may or may not be part of the massive bat die-off going on in the USA, but he doesn't appear to have the white-nose fungus we've reported on here previously.

Mystery Bat Disease

As I write this, it's only a couple of hours since Dr. Margaret Chan grimly announced to the world that we're now officially in a Level Six Pandemic for the virus that causes Swine Flu, marking the first global pandemic in nearly half a century. The first Kentucky cases were reported back in April.

Concerned though I am about the humans, I'm also very concerned about life in general on this planet (and others) - and therefore have spent what some might call an inordinate portion of the afternoon fretting about Kentucky's bat population:

According to this news story, Bat expert Merlin Tuttle addressed the House Natural Resources Committee regarding a brand-new malady called "White-nose Syndrome":

A mysterious disease that has killed a million bats in nine states is headed toward Kentucky caves that hold three endangered species of the flying mammals, lawmakers in Washington were told Thursday.

Scientists have been unable to determine where the disease came from or how to stop it.

Officials first noticed the disease in New York in 2007. Then a caver came forward with a photo taken a year earlier that showed bats with white noses.

The government has closed all caves in national forests in the east, including an estimated 1,000 caves in Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest.

Scientists don't think people can "catch" white-nose syndrome, but there was a suggestion at the hearing that a public worried about the disease would stay away from commercial caves, hurting tourism.

Climax Cave

I've been in many Kentucky caves but I don't think Rockcastle County's Climax Cave is one of them. I just happened to read about it tonight while researching something else, as so often happens with this here internet thingie.

Someone named Jenna Martin has a very interesting report of a trip to the cave in 2000, an excerpt from which follows:

Climax is one of those caves that, once you get to a certain landmark, you can wander around the many passages and not get lost because they all, for the most part, lead back to that main room. We did some exploring. We sat in one passageway for a bit and let the bats zoom by our faces. And we carried on some deep, philosophical discussions while we crawled through the mud. Good times. Around 1 am, we decided to head for the exit. With some caves, you have to exit where you came in because the passage eventually becomes impassible. Climax, though, has a separate exit that spits us out into a hilly cow field with a winding trail that brings us about a mile down the road from the church. In the middle of the night, you not only have to watch out for giant cow patties all over the place, but you also have to pass one of those ancient, scary-movie cemeteries with the complimentary creaking iron gated archway while hearing what we imagine to be wild, rabid dogs barking and howling in the not-so-distant distance. Creepy as hell, but if you call yourself a caver, you've gotta at least pretend you've got some balls.

We turned the last corner before we got to the exit. Before us, lining the 30 foot high and about 50 foot wide mouth of Climax, were about 100 or so lit candles. For years and years, this area has been thought to be highly paranormally active. (Not to mention all of the creepy "Deliverance" parallels we've noticed, on occasion.) Spirit hunters attribute ghost sightings and strange events to civil war activities that occurred in the area, extreme suffering of people living and dying in these "hollows", and the bizarre fundamentalist religions and occult rituals that were practiced by reclusive clans of Kentucky mountain people.

Climax Cave can be entered by way of an opening near the Climax Baptist Church, which is located in the small town of Climax, KY (home of Climax Mountain Spring Water). If you go, note that Climax Cave is closed from September through April, to allow the indigenous population of endangered Indiana Bats some quality alone-time.

Climax Cave is 1.554 miles long, which puts it at #626 in the Top 1000 Longest Caves in the USA.


These photos were filched from here. Click it to see some more great photos of Climax Cave.