The underground trip spelled in cave photography
Okinawa least horseshoe bat in Gyokusendo Cave
At night, as you walk through the tourist cave area of Gyokusendo Cave, you can see Okinawa least horseshoe bat flying around without sound.
About 200 small Okinawa least horseshoe bat friends "Okinawa least horseshoe bat" use the back of the Gyokusendo Cave branch as a roost.
When Okinawa least horseshoe bat spreads its wings, it is as long as the palm of an adult hand, and the head and torso are as large as a ping-pong ball and weighs about 4 grams. The face has a complex fold (nasal leaf / biyo), which is similar to chrysanthemum flowers, so it is named Kikugashira.
Echo location
Okinawa least horseshoe bat has echo location capability in nocturnal. The high-frequency sound (ultrasound) emitted by yourself is emitted from the mouth and nose, and when it comes to the object, it receives the sound (reverberation sound / echo) that turns on the object, its position, surroundings, and food It is the ability to check the distance and size to the prey. The small Okinawa least horseshoe bat's friends have such special capabilities so they can capture prey in the dark night sky and roost caves.
Useful Okinawa least horseshoe bat
At sunset, Okinawa least horseshoe bat wakes up, leaving the cave and eating insects in the nearby forest. It is a big eater that is said to eat more than half of his weight overnight.
After returning to the roost, Okinawa least horseshoe bat dung in the cave. The feces are a valuable source of nutrients for underground creatures living in caves and help maintain the underground ecosystem.
In addition, Okinawa least horseshoe bat eats a large amount of pests in fields, making it a useful creature for humans.
Protection of Okinawa least horseshoe bat
In recent years, the number of forests and roosting caves that serve as hunting grounds for Okinawa least horseshoe bat has decreased, and the number of Okinawa least horseshoe bat has decreased. In order to protect the Okinawa least horseshoe bat, measures must be taken to preserve forests and caves as a set. In particular, the number of caves in which Okinawa least horseshoe bat raises children is limited, so it is very important to protect their habitat.
(Bat gate) is installed on the door, so Okinawa least horseshoe bat and others are free to enter and exit.
Observation of Okinawa least horseshoe bat
In Okinawa World, as an event related to the protection of the Okinawa least horseshoe bat, we invite Okinawa least horseshoe bat researchers to observe the Okinawa least horseshoe bat in Gyokusendo Cave for several summer days. I hope that having fun learning about Okinawa least horseshoe bat will give you a chance to think about the existence of familiar and familiar creatures of Okinawa least horseshoe bat and the preservation of the habitat of Okinawa least horseshoe bat.
During the observation session, Okinawa least horseshoe bat researchers were invited to give an interesting talk about Okinawa least horseshoe bat.
Observe the Okinawa least horseshoe bat and others flying from the 1st cave of Gyokusendo Cave to the cave entrance in the tourist cave area. There is also a special experience of listening to the voice (ultrasound) emitted by Okinawa least horseshoe bat using a bat detector (Okinawa least horseshoe bat detector). I am surprised by Okinawa least horseshoe bat's wonderful ability to fly freely in the dark.
Okinawa least horseshoe bat is said to have acquired the ability to fly and echo location about 50 million years ago.
I'm not exhausted.
