Planet Earth - Caves

Caves, Earth’s final frontier, is the theme for this week’s Planet Earth. The different caves in the world are explored, and one of it is the Swallow Caves in Mexico. It is one of the biggest cave shaft in the world, and the entry to the cave plunges so deep (400metres) that the entire Empire State Building can be fitted comfortably into it. As such, many extreme sports enthusiasts come to here to base jump.
The Deer Cave, located on the island of Borneo, is so wide that a jumbo jet can fly in it. Millions of bats live in here, and their droppings form a 100 meter mound on the cave floor, providing a neverending supply of food for the countless of cockroaches that live in this mound. In a place where sunlight doesn’t shine in, one can, bizarrely, find crabs living among the cockroaches.
Living side by side with the bats in the cave are the swiftlets. These small birds build their nests on the steep walls of the cave using only their saliva. A nest will take a whole 30 days to complete, and it is one of most precious nest because it is – you guessed it – the origins of the bird’s nest that we consume.








The swift & its nest


When a cave is flooded, it becomes a gigantic freshwater well, which supports a variety of plants and animals, in addition to preserving features in the cave intact.
One of the most recent discoveries is the Lechuguilla Cave in USA. The whole cave is covered with gypsum crystal formations, carved out by sulphuric acid. These formations can be as high as 6 metres, and they sparkle like the stars in the sky as light is reflected off the crystals and minerals.








Clear, still water in Lechuguilla Cave












The Chandelier Ballroom, Lechuguilla Cave


Animals do thrive in these seeminly harsh places where there is no sunlight. Subtarannean, eyeless animals like the Texan cave salamandar, white crabs and cave angel fish live here, feeding on whatever food or minerals that brought into the cave by the flowing river.
This is indeed an eye opener for me. Although there are no stunning photography in this episode, there are still some beautiful scenes peppered throughout the show.