Creepy Cave Critters
When you go on a cave tour, there’s always that moment where the tour guide turns off the lights so that you can experience the rare effect of total darkness—darkness that you can almost “feel.” It makes me a bit nervous (what if the lights didn’t come back on and we had to feel our way back?), and I start checking my pockets in case a thief is nearby. It makes it even more creepy when you think about the critters that live in caves that don’t need light to find you! Here are two of the more common cave critters:
Bats
Bats are the only truly flying mammals. Most are nocturnal (they hunt at night). During the day they need a good place to sleep and hide. Caves are perfect for them, because they are able to fly even when it’s dark! They are not blind, but they do have a special ability called echolocation (EK-oh-low-KAY-shun). They can make noises that humans cannot hear, which bounce off of objects and travel back to the bats, allowing them to locate things by sound rather than sight.
Camel crickets
Camel Crickets, also called cave or spider crickets, look like they have a hump like a camel. Unlike most crickets, they do not “chirp,” since they don’t have the organs (like wings) that other male crickets have. While they do not have wings, fangs, or the ability to bite, they do have long legs that give them a mighty leap, and long antennae that help them move around in the dark.
As with all of God’s amazing creatures, cave critters are well-designed to live in the places God wanted them to live. Some of them may be a little creepy (especially the camel cricket), but their amazing design and function on the Earth is proof positive of the Creator Who made them.
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