PAPAMMAGUTTA, Chintagudem (Cave on)

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A relatively huge yawning cave beneath …, the entrance of which was on the other side of the hill (SHRINIVASULU & SHRINIVASULU 2005a: 10) features sort of a mouth (cave entrance) which gives not only access to recesses and narrow crevices (SHRINIVASULU, SHRINIVASULU & RAVINDER 2005: 2) but also contains jagged rocks strewn all around so much (SHRINIVASULU & SHRINIVASULU 2005a: 10). ETYMOLOGY: The Sanskrit -pap- means sin, -amma- or mother tends to be the title of a goddes, and -gutta- or -gudda- are a Telugu words for a hill. SITUATION: On a hill called Papammagutta near the village of Chintagudem or Chintaguda (note 1), which lies 6 km fom Jannaram ( ????? ), on the fringe of the Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary (N19°05': E078°32' to N19°20': E079°12'), and at a travelling distance of 260 km (?) along the road approximately north from Hyderabad (17°22'31”N: 78°28'28”E). GEOLOGICAL SITUATION: In case Papammagutta near Chintagudem happens to lie in the vicinity of N19°04': E079°0', it is HARI NARAIN (1987 figure 9) who gives a tiny Gravity and geology map of the Godavari Rift (after QURESHY et al. 1968) where gneisses (Archaean?) are shown to occur in the vicinity of N19°: E079° (±25 km). CAVE DESCRIPTION: On the 27th we arrived at the foot of the hill called Papammagutta and embarked on climbing the hill composed of large smooth faced vertical boulders. We huffed and puffed, climbing the boulders using creepers that grew densly on these rocks to finally reach the top of the hill accompanied by numerous villagers (young and middle-aged), to find a huge yawning cave beneath us, the entrance of which was on the other side of the hill. We ultimately reached the entrance and descended the depths of the cave that had jagged rocks strewn all around so much that we had to squeeze through the gaps between the rocks sitting and crawling simultaneously to reach the place where the bats lived. Once we reached the interior of the cave to [sic! for: and?] the roosing sie we found ourselves sandwiched between two massive rock faces. The one facing us had large crevices that housed numerous bats … (SHRINIVASULU & SHRINIVASULU 2005a: 10). CAVE LIFE: … numerous bats that were identified as Black-bearded Bat Taphozous melanopogon. They were flying about everywhere, even sometimes getting under our feet. Try as much as we could to capture them they would fly away into the interiors of the cave that were inaccessible. A mist net was erected (though not in the strict sense but literally held on each person holding on to a section of the net forming a chain of individuals) to capture the bats for proper identification. After catching four individuals of Taphozous melanopogon we had to stop collecting as a number of bats continued to get caught in the folds of the net that was being removed. … We would see many individuals of Lesser Mouse-tailed bat Rhinopoma hardwickei flying near the rock faces where we stood but would fly away into the inaccessible recesse of the cave … (SHRINIVASULU & SHRINIVASULU 2005a: 10).SHRINIVASULU, SHRINIVASULU & RAVINDER (2005: 2) collected on 27th September 2004 a total of 42 Black-bearded Tomb Bats (Taphozous melanopogon Temminck 1841) Using mist nets spread at the cave mouth and hoop nets within the cave recesses and they only sighted 6 individuals of the Lesser Mouse-tailed Bat Rhinopoma hardwickii [sic!] Gray 1831 but could not trap or collect any as they avoided flying and crept into narrow crevices. of the cave … (SHRINIVASULU & SHRINIVASULU 2005a: 10).SHRINIVASULU, SHRINIVASULU & RAVINDER (2005: 2) collected on 27th September 2004 a total of 42 Black-bearded Tomb Bats (Taphozous melanopogon Temminck 1841) Using mist nets spread at the cave mouth and hoop nets within the cave recesses and they only sighted 6 individuals of the Lesser Mouse-tailed Bat Rhinopoma hardwickii [sic!] Gray 1831 but could not trap or collect any as they avoided flying and crept into narrow crevices.