Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities

Saturday, 01 October 2022
Photo of a straw from Mammoth Cave in the SW of Western Australia. Impacts of tourism are circled. The 4 images following show the circled damage - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
Left circle: An amazing hair protruding directly out of the straw stalactite! - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
Right circle - Here is another hair embedded in the calcite of the straw stalactite! This one appears to be well beneath the calcite. - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
Top circle - Here is a hair embedded in the calcite of the straw stalactite! Clearly from tourists passing by. - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
Middle circle - The darker areas in the photo are green patches of Lampenflora growing on the straw due to lighting in the cave - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
"The Halo". This wonderful helictite was destroyed in late 1965 - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
A great Stalagmite that was in Crystal Cave in the SW of Western Australia. This wonderful formation was in the most protected piece of cave in Western Australia. (multiple cave gates and permits). Smashed beyond repair. The stal was about 30-40 cm high and was beside the plastic pathway from where you detrog to the main delicate part of the cave. - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
John Tait admiring an isolated straw pendulite. This wonderful pendulite was destroyed after being accidentally "backed into" on a surveying trip. - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
Cluster of cave pearls that was at the base of the long stairway in Giants Cave. The day following this photograph the cave pearls were taken from the cave. - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
Beautiful calcified drip holes in the Ball Room in Giants Cave. Unfortunately they were very close to the main track through the cave and have been crushed to "death" by the passage of more than 35,000 uncontrolled visitors each year! - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
A path in Punchbowl Cave at Wee Jasper in NSW that was developed by visitors kicking stones aside as they walked in and out of the cave. - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
Tracks in an ancient guano pile after the gate to the cave was removed by unauthorised visitors. The damage done to the cave during this visit was significant. 30 hours of repair work were done. Some areas of flowstone that were walked on cannot be cleaned without further potential damage to the cave. - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
Same area as the previous photograph after the repair work was completed. Besides the asthetic damage done to the guano piles (up to 10mx4m high) the foot prints acted as pit traps for the cockroaches and other invertebrates that inhabit the cave. Subsquent to this photograph the cockroaches and other terrestrials inhabiting the cave have completely "smoothed out" the guano piles. - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
Repaired Stalagmite in Bride Cave. Two arrows in picture show where it was glued. It is in the middle of the trail that leads from the cave to the main exit point. The stalagmite was used as a reference to find the "Limits of Acceptable Change" on the cave after the start of a permit system. Within a year the stalagmite had been fractured through the middle. It was glued together using silastic. After a few months the stalagmite was again broken. A second repair was done using Bondcrete. The photograph above was taken just after this repair. After 16 months the repair appears to be holding. - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities
Footprints all over a flowstone in Bride Cave. This flowstone is behind appropriate track marking. Permit Systems and Trip Leader Training do not appear to have prevented leaders stopping brainless cavers needlessly walking all over flowstones. - Photographs of Damage resulting from Poor or Excessive Caving Activities