Bulletin 70. Caves of New Jersey, 1976 - State of New Jersey

44
cave is used for habitation all year, the bats leave at mouth. In their nests have been found flashbulbs,
dusk during mild weather and feed by night, return- tin foil, bits of clothing, paper and even photographic
ing by dawn to the roost. All bats found in New Jer- film. They are extremely clean animals and follow
sey are insectivorous. Their guano is an important certain trails on their daily forays. Neotoma magissource
of nutrient material for the insects and snails ter has been seen in Fasolo Cave, Swimming Pool
of the cave. The most widely distributed bat in New Cave and Paulison's Sinks.
Jersey caves is Myotis lucifugus, the little brown bat. Because of the limited populations of animals in
A smaller and rare cave inhabitant is Pipistrellus New Jersey caves they should never be disturbed
subflavus, the pygmy bat. Eptesicus fuscus the big or collected except by trained biologists who know
brown bat is found in most caves with a dark zone. how to handle these animals without harm. Much
Lasiurus borealis, the northern red bat has been of New Jersey is becoming urbanized. In many inreported
from one cave. Lasiurus cinerus, the hoary stances caves are the last refuge for certain species.
bat, is another rare inhabitant of caves. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that all
cave life in New Jersey could be exterminated within
Mephitis mephitis, the eastern skunk, is occasion- a few years if stringent precautions are not invoked.
ally found in entrances and even the twilight zone. The caves are readily accessible, small and near
Perhaps the most appealing to man of all New Jer- large centers of population. All these factors comsey
cave inhabitants is the Allegheny wood rat, bine to put great exploration pressure on New Jersey
Neotoma magister. Unlike the Norway rat, it has a caves. Each visitor to caves should be extremely
furry tail and white ventral surface. Highly inquisi- precautious about disturbing any fauna. If an untire,
they will peer out of their nests at any visitors usual or unknown species is sighted, pictures may be
to the cave. They normally leave the cave to feed but taken for future reference or for obtaining identifiwill
take almost anything they can hold in their cation by an authority.
NEW JERSEY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY