Inside Mexico's Mysterious "Bat Cave" of Blind and Deaf Hanging Snakes

[Judi Lynn]

BY ANA LACASA, ZENGER NEWS ON 3/28/21 AT 12:30 PM EDT

Less than 180 miles from Cancun's spectacular beaches, through a nearly roadless stretch of mosquito-crowded jungle, lies a mysterious dark cave that is home to a species of blind, deaf snakes that feed mainly on flying bats.

The inky black cave is a unique ecosystem. "This is the only place in the world where this happens," said Arturo Enrique Bayona Miramontes, the biologist who discovered it. His wandering flashlight beam first discovered the cave and strange animals living inside.

The cave, many miles inland from the famous Mayan ruins of Tulum, is unknown to virtually all tourists and a genuine surprise to scientists. Once again, the Central American jungle has been peeled away to reveal another species, another hidden natural world.

The "cave of the hanging snakes" has a 65-foot wide mouth from which thousands of bats of seven different species swarm out every night, seeking food in and around Lake Chichancanab, some 2 miles away. When the bats return from nighttime feeding, some become food for the snakes.

More:
https://www.newsweek.com/inside-mexicos-mysterious-bat-cave-blind-deaf-hanging-snakes-1579139

Also posted in Science:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/122875140

[applegrove]

1. Canadians travelling in caribbean & visiting bat caves got covid like symptoms from

the bats 2 years ago. Do not go in bat caves. Was on the news at the time. They were Newfoundlanders. It wasn't as transmisable human to human as what came out of Wuhan. But it was still a type of coronavirus that came from bats and gave the people lung complications.

[hlthe2b]

3. There are also two human cases of rabies among spelunkers for which aerosolized exposure

(which has been documented to occur experimentally in mice) could not be ruled out (as opposed to bat bites).

Caution in such settings, for sure.

[hlthe2b]

2. Oh, now, won't that make for some nightmares! I am fascinated by snakes and fully tolerant as LONG

as I see them first and from a distance...

Interesting piece.