ShowCaveBlog

It was only a matter of time, until some Lord of the Rings fan among the cave biologists got the idea to use the cave dwelling ex-Hobbit Gollum for naming a new cave biota. And lately it happened: Gollumjapyx smeagol is the scientific name of a small insect, which was discovered by Spanish scientists in several caves of Castellan, an area in northern Spain.

The insect is white, slimey, just like Smeagol. But it is an insect, which means six legs and antennae. So to be honest, it does not really look like the fictious Smeagol.

New Zealand is famous for its nature: plants, animals, caves, mountains, and waterfalls. Many visitors use the hiking trails of New Zealand to see more than the normal tourist of this unique nature. In general people whi use the tracks have a positive intention towards nature protection, and so this works pretty well. But sometimes the system is abused.

Lately someone walking on the Kepler Track outside Te Anau vandalized Luxmore Cave, which lies at the trail. A 50cm long stalatite was snapped off the roof. It was an act of pure vandalizm, as the stalactite was then abandoned nearby, probably it was too heavy for the thief.

Police tried to identify the thief by lifting fingerprints from the speleothem, but the porous limestone structure did not preserve any prints. So if anyone walking on the trail on Sunday February 18th made any observation, plese report to the next police station.