Jewel Cave, the second longest cave in the world, reaches a span of over 144 miles and is believed to have much more passageway yet to be found. With this much area, its no surprise that various forms of wildlife have found shelter in the cave. One mammal, however, dominates all the rest in terms of the cave’s population.

To date, Jewel Cave is the home of 1,385 bats, the highest number since 2005.

Are you feeling a slight case of the heebie-jeebies? I must admit, after realizing the number of bats inside the cave outnumbers the entire population of my hometown of De Smet, SD, I was slightly disturbed. But after reading through the info on the National Park Service’s website for Jewel Cave, I changed my opinion.

Granted, bats aren’t the cutest of creatures, but certainly aren’t as creepy as they’ve been stereotyped. They’re not actually blind, don’t have a fetish for tangling themselves in people’s hair and only around 1% actually carry rabies (Not that I recommend trying to play with a bat with your bare hands). For more info on bat myths and facts, check out the website of the The Bat Guy.

We should be proud that so many bats have chosen to make Jewel Cave their home. They play a very important role in maintaining the insect population. The bats inside of Jewel Cave feed on beetles, moths, mosquitoes, june bugs, stink bugs, cockroaches, termites, etc. In other words, these critters help to make your picnics and camping ventures much more enjoyable.

Nine species of bats live inside Jewel Cave. This includes Townsend’s big-eared bats which use the cave as one of their largest-known hibernating colonies in the world.

Why is Jewel Cave a great place to take a winter-long nap? The cave has many different levels and ranges of temperature, making it easy for the various species of bats to adapt. Also, the gated entrance makes it difficult for predators, like owls, raccoons, hawks and cats to reach these sleeping, little helpers to our ecosystem.

There is much more to see inside Jewel Cave other than stalagmites! Don’t be scared, and remember to respect the bats’ peaceful slumber!