Muchakaima N°6 (Chichique)

Michael Laumanns - 28/11/2015

The entrance in the thicket is difficult to find and consists of two holes with a diameter of 1,5 m each. They lead to a 16 m deep free hanging drop (SRT recommended). The cave has two interconnected chambers and a small horizontal extension. - The descent from the surface leads into the bigger chamber measuring about 25 m in diameter, which contains block boulder. In the S part of the chamber traces of guano digging (1,5 m deep) were observed. In SW direction one reaches the smaller second chamber by an easy climb. The ground is covered with guano. Some isolated boulders' can be found. In the middle part there is a chimney in the roof, which serves as a roost for a colony of approximately 500 bats (Vespertilionides). SW of the chimney the complete skeleton of a small ape was found on the guano. In the W corner of the chamber the wall is covered by fine calcite formations, which have their origin in a fissure where water penetrates from time to time. Right there on the left in approximately 1,5 m height a breccia from bat bones was observed. At the walls of the whole cave numerous fossils were seen (e.g. shark teeth). At the S end of the chamber a small passage continues. However, it gets impassable after 8 m. Beside the above-mentioned bats various spiders, amblypygi, beetles, cave crickets, insects and 2 frog species were seen. The small passage continuing to the S shows a former filling with fine-grained sediment. An air temperature of 21,0°C was measured.