Suurberg Bat Cave

Suurberg Bat Cave (Suurberg 4, SB4)

(e50m,l29m,w19m,h14m)
Anthony Hitchcock and Peter Swart, 12 December 1998

This cave was by far the most impressive of the Suurberg Caves and reminded us of a small version of Wynberg Cave. The plan of the cave shows a 1m to 1.5m wide, 50m long, zigzag crack. The floor of the crack is 14m below the entrance to the cave, and the average height of the cave ceiling is about 7m to 8m above the floor. We disturbed a large number of bats while surveying the cave, but it would appear from the large guano deposits that the entire colony was not in residence during our visit. Most of the floor area of the cave was covered in bat guano, and even the floor of the low passage under the entrance collapse, was covered in a deep layer of guano.

The cave was full of insects and spiders. We found a number of Woolly Worm type caterpillars, similar to those in Woolly Worm Cave at De Hoop. The caterpillars in this cave appeared smaller and thinner than their Southern Cape brethren.

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