Virtual Tour Station 12 Devil's Icebox Entrance

Devil's Icebox Cave is home to two federally-endangered species of bats.  In the summer a maternal colony of gray bats rear their young in the cave.  In the winter time a colony of Indiana bats hibernates in the cave.  Any disturbance in the summer could either frighten mother gray bats into abandoning their young, resulting in the deaths of thousands of immature bats. A disturbance in the winter could deprive hibernating bats of vital energy needed to survive the winter.  The fine for entering the cave during these times can as high as $50,000.

Four other species of bats also use the cave:  big brown bat, little brown bat, eastern pipistrelle and northern long-eared bat. Bats play an important role in the environment-and at your backyard barbecue. Flying insects are the bat's chief food source and a single bat may eat as many as 1,000 insects in a night's feeding. Since some colonies may contain hundreds of thousands of bats, it is easy to see their importance in controlling many insect pests such as mosquitos. Bats emerge to feed at dusk and return to the cave at dawn.

In addition to bats, Devil's Icebox Cave is home to many other interesting animals. The pink planarian, a small flatworm, makes its home in the cave stream. Devil's Icebox Cave is the only place in the world where this flatworm is found. Other inhabitants include the marbled and dark-sided salamanders, many insects, spiders, and frogs.

FoRB Office

Outdoors Building
200 Old 63 South, Suite 204
Columbia, Missouri 65205

Contact the FoRB office at
Mjdonlsn@aol.com

Contact the Park Office at:
(573) 449-7402
Check trail conditions at:
(573) 442-2249