Galway 5: Three quarters of a mile underground - Travis

Today we did the Aillwee Burren Experience and I will be focusing my blog on the cave portion
of our tour there. We also experienced a bird of prey demonstration after a cave walk through. The cave is located in Burren, County Clare.

The Burren which is a rich biodiverse landscape known as Glaciokarst. The word “Glaciokarst” is broken up into two parts; the “Glacio” part refers to the landscape that has been greatly influenced by glacial activity in the past and the “Karst” part refers to the distinctive surfaces which were a result of the dissolution of soluble rocks like limestone by water.

The cave was found by a farmer who chased his dog up the side of the mountain as the dog chased a rabbit into the cave. He then later explored the cave deeper and came upon two remains of extinct European Bears. The bones are displayed in the main building and one of them dates back to being over ten thousand years old. There is also a tibia from another bear that dates back to being 4,000 years old. These bears are now extinct in Ireland due to deforestation and hunting have been extinct for over 3,000 years.

Bears used the cave to hibernate thousands of years ago. We were still able to see the hibernation pits the bears made to sleep in. It was really cool to see how big they would have been and how they used the cave. Through the cave we went through narrow passes and slopes and ramps which you had to watch out for.

Through the cave there is limestone which is over 300 million years old and is the compressed sediment of a shallow tropical ocean which is now exposed above sea level due to tectonic movement. It was amazing to see fossils packed in the walls, they were all over the cave. They were brachiopods, which is an oyster-like creature but are a more common fossil in the cave.

The cave began to form over a million years ago when melt water began to dissolve the weaker rock in the cave. A lot of water that enters the cave is rain and we could see water dripping in and throughout the cave in some waterfalls. The water that enters the cave leaves behind traces of calcite, which over thousands of years builds up and creates structures called flow stone. Their cave was filled with stalactites and stalagmites, there was a beautiful example of when they connected and it was 8,000 years old.

The cave eventually narrows to a point where the cave divers couldn’t even turn around; they had to back out. One section of cave is never used and left alone for Lesser Horseshoe Bats that use it to breed and roost. They are only 3.5cm in length and have an approximate wingspan of 20-25cm. Around their nose they have a flesh part that is shaped like a horseshoe which is how they achieved their name. The fleshy part amplifies the calls when they are searching for food using echolocation. The sound pulse they send out can help them detect the size, shape, and texture of things surrounding them.

They are a protected species so someone from the National Park and Wildlife Services surveys the population. There were roughly 115 bats in the last survey a few months ago. The population of bats is never disturbed and has increased from previous years. These bats are endangered and on the verge of extinction in many European countries which is really sad to hear. However, Ireland's programs are working hard to maintain a steady growth in their population and provide bat boxes to increase their survival. Majority of the bats have moved out of the caves in Aillwee to barns, woodlands, and bat boxes. When the temperature increases they spend less time in the cave because they don’t need to warm up anymore. The cave stays roughly fifty degrees Fahrenheit all year round, so when it's cold in the winter the bats can use the cave to warm up. In September and October they will most likely move back into the cave permanently for the wintering months.

- Travis Standerski 

     This was my first time ever being in a cave and truly experiencing the beauty of how water can cut through stone. The tube shape of the cave was breathtaking and just how old it feels is something unreal. Walking through you truly get a sense of how truly new you are in this world. Things have been happening for millions of years and you can just stumble on their beauty as the farmer did. The cave has a presence on your shoulders when you’re walking through, the low rock ceiling with fossils, water droplets, and stalagmites and stalactites all give you an ambiance that is truly a one of a kind experience.

McCabe note: During 4th class (grade) and again during a secondary school geography class, I was brought to Aillwee Caves. Since that time the route has expanded deeper into the cave and a Welsh mining company was hired to dig a tunnel parallel to the natural cave route so that visitors now have a loop to follow rather than being forced to squeeze around other groups of visitors while exiting. On this visit I couldn't help noticing algae and plants growing deep in the cave, photosynthesizing using only artificial light.

An estimated 13,000 lesser horseshoe bats occur in 6 Irish counties including Clare where Aillwee Caves are located. The caves are privately owned and the owners manage a cave section specifically for bats.