Interesting post. First - I assume that many people know this - But the TCMA owns several caves / preserves that are focused on protecting “cave critters”. Check out the TCMAs website for more information.
Second - over many years of caving I have many interesting encounters with critters in caves....from crawling into an obvious rattlesnake den in Oklahoma....to unintentionally peeing on a rattlesnake just outside of another Oklahoma cave....and leaping down onto a water moccasin at another Oklahoma cave....and being stung by a scorpion that dropped onto my neck in a TEXAS cave....and finding a fresh mountain lion kill in a New Mexico cave ( it slipped past me and got out of the cave much to the surprise of my companions ). Anyway, the wildlife in and around caves has always been the more memorable part of caving for me - I just wish I could have gotten pictures of some of these encounters along the way. But I have never been stung by a big centipede and no plans to try it. Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 31, 2019, at 10:15 AM, Fritz Holt <[email protected]> wrote: > > David’s comments raises a question I have. I have been wading Hill Country > rivers (Frio, Nueces and Sabinal)and exploring their rocky cliffs and caves > for 65 years. I have had encounters with rattlers, water snakes, various > lizards and centipedes. I love them all but am especially fascinated with the > large centipedes. The largest ones I have seen were between four and five > inches long. I seem to remember their coloration was black and various shades > of red, yellow and orange. I may have picked up one or two without gloves but > was never bitten or stung. I assume they can inflict pain but guess I was > lucky (as always) and would like some feedback on this. Are they harmful? > Fritz Holt > [email protected] > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Jan 30, 2019, at 1:54 PM, David <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> People, including cavers, often associate cave animals with bats. >> >> I think we often neglect the other critters. For example, name a cave >> that is devoted to the preservation of Red-headed Centipede. >> >> Or any other cave-dwelling centipede. >> >> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Scolopendra_heros.jpg >> >> I saw a 6 inch long centipede in Brehmer Cave near New Braunfels, around >> 1996. I remember the color patter was maroon and black, but can't >> remember which color was the >> dominating color - Maybe black with some maroon parts ? >> >> I can only imagine cavers with lots of experience have seen hundreds of >> these. >> >> Of course, you probably would not want to crawl around in a cave with 100's >> of venomous >> centipedes. Would you ? >> >> On a related note, I have not seen a horned-toad in the wild in over 30 >> years. >> >> And on a totally different note, >> >> Last night, I was driving around 2 a.m. in the morning from Houston to >> Gatesville ( northwest of Temple ) >> via the small towns around Milano, and I saw >> stars for the first time in almost a year. I did not have time to even >> get out of the car and look at >> the stars. There was still too much light on the horizon and from >> traffic to really get a good look at them. >> _______________________________________________ >> Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com >> [email protected] | Archives: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ >> http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers > _______________________________________________ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > [email protected] | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
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