Cauldron of bats
Have you visited a bat cave? I've always been curious how they look, how they sleep, hang, or just their place. I've seen bats at night sometimes, flying from trees to trees... getting their juicy fruits. :D But I've never seen a bat cave until recently.
The cave has a lot of entrances where we could safely view the bats from a distance. You can't enter the caves cos aside from the fact that the bats need some protection, it is also dangerous for humans. First of all, their poop smells so bad. Next, there are a lot of snakes there too and the cave is really big.
See those black stuff that cover the walls?
They're all bats. :D
We were maybe 15 feet away from the entrance of this one so we can't really see from the inside of the cave. When I viewed it from my camera, I was stoked to see those aren't black walls but they're all bats. XD
Really good thing that I bought my zoom lens with me.
Do you wonder why they sleep upside down? Apparently, their legs are not that strong to be able to takeoff from the ground, so it's more efficient for them to sleep hanging. With their upside down position, they are able to just drop and fly immediately when they're threatened.
Pretty cool!
Look at them resting after a night of hard work - saving the world. :3 Pollinating so trees can continue to grow for the future.
A group of bats is called a cauldron. They are also called a colony or a cloud. Cauldron sounds the baddest.
Then I caught this dude, uhh, cleaning itself. :D
There are around 2 million+ bats here. It's crazy how many and I'm glad they are preserving it.
Why you flying around??? Go to sleep! :D
The smell of the previous caves where quite nothing since I guess they were a lot of females there and we were not that close. But when we got to the males section... it smelled so freaking BAD!
Males are more smelly and besides they mostly eat durian so combine that and you will have a really smelly man cave. Like the room of a WOW player. :PPP
Maybe also because the cave was a bit lower than the viewing area, hence the smell goes upward and thus to us. It was really bad for me though maybe cos I'm more sensitive to smell as well but it was so bad that I had to cover my nose the entire time I was close to the area.
I just held my breath for a long time and took a few pics haha and moved on.
They don't seem to mind their smell. XD
Bats are so important to our ecosystem. In fact, they were the ones who planted most of the trees in the surrounding area. They for sure planted the others too.
I'm really glad there are people who conserve and protect their habitat and I hope it stays that way. Love the bats. :D
Your pics are so cool @hiddenblade! I can't imagine myself entering a bat cave ... that's just scary for me! Yikes! Can't also imagine the smell of the smelly man cave hahahah
Any caves with bats are scary.. or any caves in general probably hahah. I've seen a lot of stories on the internet about people getting lost or stuck there. 🤣
I don't know how to describe it either. It's something I've never smelled before so I don't know the word for it but it's very strong that I can smell it in my skin and clothes even after leaving the cave.
Clothes?!! Oh no no 😂
thank you for sharing to us, I havent seen one before but now i feel like I have 😍
:D
Next up we look for Batman!
Haha yeah! They will also do this at night too especially when full moon. Yeah no I'm not gonna be interested being close to them and smell them😅
WOW, how cool! I've never seen like that before. I enjoyed the fun facts about why bats sleep upside down. It's great to see these creatures preserving in their natural habitat
I don't even know why we’ve been told bats are scary when we were growing up. They just mind their own business eating fruits at night. 😅
Omg, there's really a lot of them. In some stories they sound really scary, but seeing them now and those with open eyes they kinda look cute. And the cave looks really beautiful with them in it, with the color if black and they had white color on their wings no? It is so beautiful and you are so lucky to see this cave full of them. I want to see one too! 😍
Haha yeah they look so cute! There are other species that really look scary af but not this. They kinda look like oposums to me 😂
It seems that way yeah, or maybe just 'a lack of black pigment'. They indeed are beautiful and fascinating creatures. Kinda feel bad for them to have that scary reputation huhu. I blame the aswangs hahaha
Wow! Just like you I am curious about bats. But in our place, it seemed that I am hearing horror stories about it. But you know what, I have read somewhere that just like birds, bats only thrive to peaceful places. So whenever it happened that a bat accidently goes to a certain house, it means that it is a good place to thrive. Thank you for sharing how bats behave. You are so lucky to capture this moments.
Yah same! They would make it seem like they are scary creatures and would attack us or something. I've seen them a lot when I was younger but they didn't really want anything to do with us. They just want the fruits :D
This might be the most interesting photo shoot I've seen on Hive. You've done a great job with your camera. Very clear and detailed bat photos. There are thousands of bats here. Weren't you scared when you took these photos? I mean, even if they started flying towards you, it would feel like the end of the world.
Thank you!! I was kinda worried it might be too dark on some areas but with editing, I was able to make them show up. No, I think they also might be used to having visitors around and also probably cos it's day time? They can't fly outside the cave cos the heat of the sun would overheat them or something. But yeah we were not that close to be scared of them.
Yes, you're absolutely right, I forgot that they can't fly outside during the day. And they may be used to guests. You've done an incredible job with the editing. All the photos look very clear and bright. At the same time, they're not too bright, just as they should be.
exceptional photography congratulations🫶
Thank you!
Since you mentioned durian, I guess this is somewhere in Asia? So many cool photos! I've a few bat gatherings, but nowhere near that!
Yes it's in the Philippines :D it was my first time too.
Funny enough, Phillipines was the last Asian country I've visited... and where I saw similar bats! :)
Yo, these are some really cool photos! Bats are such mysterious creatures, and I really appreciate the high quality photos. A glimpse into another world. They have such expressive faces, like they are just as curious about you as you are of them. Thanks for sharing!
Haha yeah I was also wondering if they can see us or are they really blind? Apparently they have a good eyesight, so pretty much wondering what we were doing too 🤣🫣
Wow that's cool and scary haha. We had many issues in my state where multiple deadly diseases were spread through bats so I'd keep my distance xD.
They are cute though. They are like sky puppies 😆.
Oh no. I was also wondering about that but I wasn't able to ask or even remembered to ask about diseases. I guess the risk is lower for fruit-eating bats but I don't really know. They were pretty much chill about us visiting tho. Even tho some of them are kinda outside of the cave already haha probably used to the visitors as well.
Also thankfully the visitors are respectful.
Fruit eating bats are risky too. We had something called Nipah Virus outbreak in a distant state. It's spread by these guys. High mortality rate plus no effective vaccines as of now.
Lol I wouldn't dare go make that photos, I know they are harmless but they are creepy
Great shots and the WOW reference just lol 😂
I also imagined their faces would be creepy but they look cute apparently :D but yeah when they sleep upside down that looks kinda creepy haha.
The fact that you guys understood the WOW reference that probably means the stereotype is real?? 😭😭🤣🤣
I gotta agree faces are not that bad 😂
Haha I don't know, I don't play wow but I got it 🤣
Mercy, bats galore, literally Batman's cave. Be careful they don't kidnap you, my friend. There's a photo that made me laugh a lot alone, but I can't comment. Excellent post, my friend, these photos are relics.
I don't really watch Batman... does he kidnap people???😭🤨🤣
Thank you!
I don't know what kind of bat it is, but if those ones drink blood. There must be a lot of corpses inside that cave. HaHaHaaa
No haha they only eat fruits, nectars, and pollen.. thankfully🤣🤣
This is such an incredible photo essay—equal parts educational, entertaining, and visually captivating. The zoom lens really paid off; those details of the bats clustered like dark waves across the cave walls are unreal. I love how you blended humor with facts (especially the part about the smelly “man cave” 😂), but also made space to highlight the ecological importance of bats. It’s not every day you see such a respectful and well-documented perspective on a species people often fear or overlook. Beautiful work—and props for holding your breath long enough to bring us these shots!
Thank you! Ye lol I'm not very serious with posts most of the time. :D I kinda feel bad for them having the reputation but then again I think it is kinda understandable, they can carry diseases that could be harmful to us but I guess it's low chance considering their diet.
So many there wow 😳😳
2.3 million in that cave alone 🫣
That's damn crazy! Earnestly to be very sincere, I don't really like bats 🦇 🤨
That's okay!
The pictures look like something straight out of a Dracula movie. And for someone who is almost never terrified, these scenery looks very scary.
I also can't imagine getting stuck inside that cave with them. It was really a wtf moment for me when I realized the black thing on the wall was them. Crazy how many they are.
Wow, these shots are really amazing! Thanks for sharing this great content.
Thank you!
Wow, 2 million is a lot of bats...and bat shit! No wonder the smell was so bad. I like the sound of 'cauldron of bats' too, it just sounds more fitting. I really love the shot of the bat looking straight at the camera (8ith pic up, I think), though all of the shots are great. I have a few bats that live on my property and they fly out at dusk every night. It's nice to have them here, eating up those skeeters :D
It's likely a combination of poop and other secretions as well.
Cauldron of bats sound indeed fitting and unique. There are a lot of groups of animals called colonies already 🤨
Nice! They know they’re safe in your area that’s why they live there. So cool! I also just learned that they eat insects like mosquitoes as well so that is sooo cool!!
No bat mobile?
Lol no, sadly
YEAH!... Impressive!!!
Omg, just look at them, I mean wowwwwwww, amazing shots
!DIY
Thank you! They're so cute🤣
I would be a little afraid to explore this cave. Besides, as you say, between the snakes and the bad smell, I would stay well away. Excellent photographs.
Haha yeah me too. Thankfully we're not allowed to. Even if we were I still wouldn't dare :D
This is amazing, a large colony of bats. I was going to ask why they were upside down, but I already got the answer from the article. Thanks for sharing this beautiful view about bats and their caves.
Thank you!
Wow!!! Congratulations, all that pics are stunning 😬💥
Thank you!
I’ve never been to a bat cave either but now I kinda want to—minus the smell and the snakes tho 😅. The close-up pics are awesome, they really do look like they're just chillin' after a night shift lol. Nature is so wild. Glad people are protecting them too.
Always nice to visit any sanctuaries around. You can see them and also support them and help preserve the area. :D
Wow, this is the first time I'm seeing bats this close, and I must say you really did a great job with this beautiful pictures.
Thank you!
---> Like the room of a WOW player
!LOLZ
Never seen that many in one place, wikkid awesome.
Indeed they are! :D
WOW so awesome! The photos are so good! the soft lighting and the detail. Also had no idea that the males are the smelly ones! With that all said I'd totally venture in.
Another little fun fact is that the females are able to fly out for food and then come back to their pups (who are all bunched in with all the other pups) and distinguish them by echo-location, with a unique sound.
Also we have a small caldron of tiny insect-eating bats in our roof. They sometimes (very rarely) find they way through the bamboo and fall into the room and we have to take them outside where they have room to fly.
@hiddenblade, I paid out 7.881 HIVE and 1.771 HBD to reward 26 comments in this discussion thread.