Sleaze, Before this string dies I thought of one other mammal that frequents caves on a somewhat regular basis but probably not much past the daylight zones of caves with fairly large entrances. Some years ago on one of the numerous trips which I made to a particular favorite cave we viewed this animal. We were walking up the slope to Frio Bat Cave and just when the large drive-in entrance came into view, the largest Javelina that I have ever seen (and I have seen a few) came running out of the entrance and headed down hill into the brush. I assume that it was rooting around for insects or the occasional dead bat.
Javelinas are my favorite critter and once while bird hunting on a large ranch on the Rio Grande, south of Sanderson, we spooked a small heard and as a young baby ran by I was able to grab it. I had thoughts of how cool it would be to raise a pet Javelina but when I picked it up and looked at its belly, the many dozens of fleas made me quickly put it down to join its mother. While on this same ranch, Clyde Smith, the ranch foreman, took us by horse and mule a couple of miles down a ravine to the Rio Grande's edge. Except for the ravine, the ranch's riverfront is bordered by cliffs maybe 500 feet high and it is desert country. The sandy riverbank had a thick growth of cane and amongst the cane was an adult mountain lion that had recently died with its foot in a trap. Clyde said that during the previous seven years this was the seventh lion that they had caught. Keep in mind that this was around 1970 and since then there has been a greater proliferation of mountain lions and bears in Texas. Shortly after this trip, Clyde mailed me a Sanderson newspaper clipping with a picture of a black bear (probably from Mexico) that had been caught in the same trap. Fritz, the nostalgia king. _____ From: bmorgan...@aol.com [mailto:bmorgan...@aol.com] Sent: Monday, January 07, 2008 4:28 PM To: texascavers@texascavers.com Subject: [Texascavers] Cave critters Porcupines are common in the caves of southeast Asia. I have seen them in Mulu and in Thailand, and have often seen their tracks fairly far back. Let's not forget that Deer cave in Mulu was called that because when Tom Harrison (Mr. Cool, look him up) first discovered the cave it was frequented by real Sambar stags. Certain caves in central America are inhabited by Paca (Cuniculus paca), better know as Tepesquintle in Mexico or Gibnut in Belize. I have often written about how tasty they are. Some caves are obviously often visited since they leave well traveled trails deep underground, but only in certain caves. Damned if I know why? In such circumstances I have searched for stored food material but have found none. Jaguars often den in caves too, plus they hang around such places in search of Gibnuts! Sleaze _____ Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape <http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489> in the new year.
