CARLSBAD, N.M. (KRQE) – A bag of Cheetos that was dropped on the ground at Carlsbad Caverns National Park had a large impact on the cave’s ecosystem, according to National Park Service staff.
“At the scale of human perspective, a spilled snack bag may seem trivial, but to the life of the cave it can be world changing,” an NPS official wrote on Facebook on Sept. 6. Staff said the bag was found off-trail in the Big Room. The processed corn in Cheetos was softened by the humidity of the cave and “formed the perfect environment to host microbial life and fungi.”
This in turn attracted cave crickets, mites, spiders, and flies, which then spread the mold to nearby surfaces. “Molds spread higher up the nearby surfaces, fruit, die and stink. And the cycle continues. Rangers spent twenty minutes carefully removing the foreign detritus and molds from the cave surfaces,” according to the post.
The park’s rules say that the only food that can be consumed in the caves is unflavored water. Food and any other drinks are prohibited. Park staff encouraged visitors to be mindful of their activities to prevent things like this from happening.
No you’re not! I just watched the bat flight out of Carlsbad Caverns, and am going inside the Caverns tomorrow. It’s infuriating that people don’t understand how their actions impact ecosystems like that.
Bats are incredibly important for pollination and pest control, and they are being wiped out with White Nose Syndrome, which is a moldy fungus that grows over the bats’ faces and disturbs their hibernation cycle, killing them in the process. I am sure this bag of Cheetos didn’t help.
People are stupid and careless and only think about themselves, for the most part.
My husband and I spent the evening washing and disinfecting our clothes and shoes because we were inside a different cave recently and don’t want to potentially spread WNS. So some people care.
I feel a bit better now for my sanity but, man bats have gotten a bad shake for so long and White Nose Syndrome makes me nervous af tbh