Temporary and Permanent Cave Dwellers

Many animals make their homes in natural caves. Some live near the entrance. They sleep, hibernate, bear young, and sometimes eat in the cave. Others live in caves during daytime and fly out at dusk to feed. Certain birds also live in caves and some creatures have made caves their permanent dwelling.

Animals that live permanently in caves are usually partially or totally blind but have developed keen sense of smell and touch. They are usually pale in color and carnivorous and their bodies are modified in various ways.

Permanent Dwellers

Blindfish

Blindfish is any of several small fishes with vestigial functionless eyes or eyeless found usually in the waters of caves

Blind Texas Salamander

Because the Texas blind salamander is adapted for living in water underground, it has no eyes, only two small black dots under the skin. Its little skin pigment, is white in color, and has external gills used to get oxygen from the water.

Cave Cricket

Cave crickets have very large hind legs with “drumstick-shaped” femora and long, slender antennae. They are brownish in color and rather humpbacked in appearance, always wingless, and up to two inches/5 cm long in body and 10 cm (4 in) for the legs.

Cave Weta

The cave weta's body is dwarfed by its very long antennae and legs. Unlike other weta, the cave weta can live up to seven years. They are silent creatures and cannot hear and can jump up to two meters. Weta are large by insect standards, some species among the largest and heaviest in the world. Their physical appearance is that of a cross between a cockroach and a cricket with the addition of large legs. The name comes from the Maori language word wētā.

Cave Crustaceans

Cave crustaceans have especially long and sensitive feelers.

Crayfish

Cave crayfish have been found living as much as 3 m (10 ft) underground.

Other permanent dwellers include the eyeless shrimps, tiny snails, spiders, salamanders and many others.

Temporary Tenants

Swifts

Swifts are birds noted for their exceptionally fast flight. Species of cave swifts, native to Asia, make their nests entirely of saliva. The nests of these swifts are used to make bird's-nest soup.

South American Oilbird

They are found in the northern areas of South America from Guyana and the island of Trinidad to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in forests and woodland with caves. These nocturnal species, uniquely, are specialist feeders on the fruit of the Oil Palm and tropical laurels.

Bats

Bats are the most popular animals that live in caves. Many kinds of bats live in caves during daytime, clinging to the ceiling with their claws. At dusk, they fly out to feed.

Bear, Mountain Lions, Foxes, Wildcats and others.

Many large meat-eating animals make their homes in natural caves. They usually live near the entrance. Bones of the cave bear, hyena, leopard, wolf and lion have been discovered in European caves.