Carlsbad Cavern is home to thousands of Mexican Free-tailed Bats from March to October. At dusk they leave the cave all at once to feed on mosquitos. Visitors enjoy watching them emerge, but we will have to make a return trip another time to enjoy this experience.
"Walking through the parts of the passageway where the rocks were so close you had to duck your head." - Joel
"I like seeing what the cave actually looked like when the ranger turned off the lights -- it was pitch black." - Kristin
"I liked looking at the tiny little soda straws." - Emily
What did you learn about preserving cave environments?
"Stay on the path." and "Without even trying we harm the cave by dropping clothing lint and hair." - Joel
"It's important to not touch the cave structures or I might damage them." - Kristin
"Don't bring in food or drinks because it attracts animals that aren't supposed to live there." - Emily