naracoorte caves national park

• Visiting the Park
• Natural Attractions
• Park Management
• Friends of Parks
• The Caves
• Cathedral Cave
• Alexandra Cave
• Bat Cave
• Blackberry Cave
• Blanche Cave
• Fox Cave
• Victoria Fossil Cave
• Wet Cave
• Glossary
• Further Reading
• Wonambi Fossil Centre
• Education
• Conferences and Events
• Links
• Downloadable Information
• Facilities and Fees

Naracoorte Caves National Park

Creatures of the night

One special cave at Naracoorte provides the largest of only two known breeding chambers for the Southern Bentwing Bat Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii.

Bats on the wing

Every spring thousands of these small bats return to the maternity chamber in Bat Cave after wintering in various caves throughout southeastern Australia.

The cave is over 300 metres long and has huge deposits of guano, piled up after many years of habitation.

The guano is home to a multitude of invertebrates and Bat Cave is the type locality for several species. Guano mining in the 19th century reduced the level of guano in the chamber, and no doubt impacted on the bats and the invertebrates.

A Southern Bentwing Bat

Bats cluster on the ceiling of the cave to sleep

In order to protect this fragile ecosystem, access to the cave is restricted.

However, visitors may view the bats via infra-red cameras in the Bat Observation Centre on a guided tour.

This enables people to get a special behind-the-scenes look at how bats live in their natural habitat without disturbance from humans, a true ecotourism experience.

An infrared camera in Bat Cave sends pictures...

... to the Bat Observation Centre, where visitors can watch the bats on video screens

During the summer months visitors can also experience the spectacular exit flight as the bats pour out of the cave entrance every night to feed on flying insects.