 Our
Trip to Wyandotte
Cannelton Elementary Club
standing at the opening of Big Wyandotte Cave
On September 30,
2006 our club, Cannelton Elementary Media Club,
visited Wyandotte Caves at O'Bannon Woods State
Park in
Southern Indiana. We wanted to see what life and
formations
we could see so that we could better understand
what is so unique and
important about the caves. We want to do what we
can to help
preserve and protect the caves, their formations,
and inhabitants.
Below are photographs of our day at Wyandotte. We
hope to go
back this spring to take a longer tour of both
caves.
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When we arrived at
the visitor center of Wyandotte Caves we
met with members of the Indiana
Department of
Natural Resources,
including Bob Sawtelle, the Park Manager
and other members of the DNR.
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The first thing that
happened was we were each given special
cave helmets to wear. These helmets are
hard and have flashlights on the tops to
help us to see where we are going in the
dark caves. We felt like real cave
explorers, or spelunkers!
Then we headed to Big Wyandotte! |
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Bob told us a bit of
the history of the cave. He explained to
us that it is actually closed at this
time because it is the time when the
Indiana bats are coming to the cave to
hibernate and people might bother them
too much. We were lucky that we were
given special permission to be there that
day. |
| Wildlife biologist
Dr. Clark McCreedy explained to us how
the anabat machine will work when it is
set up at the entrance of the cave. This
machine will record echolocation bat
calls as all of the bats come to
"meet and greet" each other in
order to mate before finding their
hibernating place in the cave. |
 |
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This is the sign
that is at the entrance of the cave. It
warns people not to go into the cave
because the endangered Indiana bats are
using it for hibernation. If people were
to go in and bother these bats when they
are actually hibernating and they wake
up, then they would probably starve to
death because they could not find food
and burn up their stored energy. |
References/Resources
All
photos on this page:
Cannelton Elementary Media Club
We wish to thank Bob Sawtelle and
everyone at the DNR for allowing
us to visit Wyandotte Caves.
We
want to also thank
Dr. Clark McCreedy
Hoosier National Forest
and
Carol Groves
of Wyandotte Caves LLC
Wyandotte Caves
http://www.wyandottecaves.com
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Comments? Questions?
You can e-mail us at:
jgoble@cannelton.k12.in.us
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