By Elina and Nicky

By Elina and NickyBy Elina and Nicky

All About Deer Cave• On the island of Borneo

there are the biggest and longest cave passages in this world. The Mulu

• caves beneath Mulu National Park were carved out of limestone over millions of years and so far 200 Km of underground caverns have been explored. It’s possible there is three times that distance waiting to be discovered. Our Frankencreature lives in the Deer Cave in Mulu National Park in Borneo.

All About the Animals of Deer Cave

• Deer Cave is one of the few ecosystems of the world that do not rely on plants or sunlight. There are bats, cockroaches, earwigs, scorpions, crabs, giant centipedes, birds, glow worms, Texas Blind Salamander, Swifts and blind cave fish. There are 27 species of bats. There are 3 million wrinkle lipped bats. The bat’s guano is food for the insects.

Deer Cave Animals Adaptations

Bat’s adaptations are their wings and in caves they use echolocation. Echolocation is sound that animals use and if it hits something it bounces back to the animal and tells them where the object is, how big it is and what it is. Bats use this to catch prey and not fly into things.

Glowworms glow through bioluminescence. Bioluminescence is a chemical reaction and when the animal is scared for example, they emit light.

Texas Blind Salamander: with no sunlight and no requirements to see, this salamander has not only lost its pigment in its skin but has also lost its eyes. To replace such a loss has formed extremely adapted receptors in the skin which detect the tiniest movement in the water.

Deer Cave Animals Adaptations

• There are also birds called “Swifts” that use their saliva to build nests that stick to the side of the cave.

• Blind Cave Fish, despite lacking eyes, also use echolocation as an adaptation to survive. With tiny microscopic hooks on their fins, blind cave fish pin to the bottoms of streams and remain to feed on the abundant bacteria in the fast flowing water.

• Scorpions: A stinger can help it easily kill its food and protect itself, by injecting poison into the enemy. Also, a scorpions claws are very strong. A scorpion has four sticky legs, sticky legs him climb up things such as trees so it can get away from enemies and it is harder to get blown away, by wind. Scorpions have very hard shells, that look like plates on their backs. These plates are an adaptation that prevent the scorpion from getting crushed easily. Depending on the type of scorpion, a scorpion can have from 6 to 12 eyes. This as a helpful adaptation for scorpions because if a scorpion looses an eye, it has many more to see with.

The Zizzy, Our Frankencreature

Bats –like wings: help it fly to catch to catch prey.Bioluminescence :It glows to warn off enemies.Echolocation of Bat/ Blind cave fish: Helps it sense

where things are including prey/enemies.Salamander like tail :helps it not get eaten by

releasing its tail (the tail comes off!) and it can escape. It grows a new tail.

Hard shell: helps protect it and make it hard to crush.

Sticky legs: can stick on things and climb the cave walls without getting blown away or falling off.

Size: .Approximately 30cm including wing span. Approximately 18.5 cm in body length, not including the tail.

Weight: Approximately 2.5 lbs as a full grown adult Zizzy.

Colour: Lacks skin pigment due to living in the dark caves.

A lizard-like head with no eyes, but has formed extremely adapted receptors in the skin which detects the tiniest movement in the water.