During my travels thru the savage jungle I came upon a cozy cave. Let us see what I found inside!
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I found these curious cave paintings. These seem to be showing what local flowers might look like during the spring and summer months. Very interesting. It seems this cave was once inhabited!!
As curiosity got the best of me I worked my way deeper into the darkness! And then I saw it! An amazing little creature that can be tough to photograph. They can be shy by nature but will put up a tenacious fight when their home range has been encroached upon by unknown beings!
The shy but protective Bat Eared Barker!
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This one appears to be female! What luck!! Notice the large ears on this specimen. Their hearing is quite acute, which they use to find trespassers. These little Barkers are very territorial and will make a harsh racket whenever threatened. Or actually for no perceivable reason at all. What goes on in that tiny head is still a mystery even today.
So enthralled was I at my Bat Eared Barker that I almost failed to see the danger I was in! There resting in what appeared to be the final stages of winter hibernation was what appeared to be the owner of this cave! The very formidable and sometimes extremely frightening......Cave Yeller!!!!
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This Cave Yeller also seems to be female. It appears to have shed its winter coat for it's more colorful spring/summer colors! Truly amazing! I had to tread extremely carefully else I would wake it. That would have been a serious problem. When being roused from slumber Cave Yellers can react violently with harsh calls and sometimes very intimidating threat displays. Sometimes these can escalate to physical confrontations involving thrown objects or the use of their very sharp claws. Many an explorer has had their head ripped from their shoulders for crossing a Cave Yeller! They are not to be taken lightly.
I got my lucky photograph and quickly exited the cave!
But I warn everyone who reads this. If you do not hear from me for a long period of time....assume the Cave Yeller has found the photo and has killed me in a fit of rage. They seem to loathe the very idea of being captured in a photo and will hunt down the offending explorer without mercy. You have been warned!