A cacophony of clicks and other strange sounds surround you when you stand inside the Cueva de Las Lechuzas. • The Cueva de Las Lechuzas (Cave of the Owls) is located inside Tingo Maria National Park, one of the oldest national parks in Peru. • Few foreign tourists make it to this part of the country, but those that do soon learn of the so-called owl cave and its strange inhabitants, after which it is erroneously named. • This gaping cavern is the entry point to a more extensive and largely unexplored cave system, and is home to stalactites, stalagmites, insects, bats and, most intriguingly, nocturnal oilbirds (guácharos) that navigate using echolocation. • The cave is actually home to a colony of some 3,000 oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis), which local residents initially confused with owls. • The extent of the cave is unknown, due to the presence of a fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum, which makes extended exploration risky. • This fungus, found in the dropping-rich soil on the cave floor, releases spores when disturbed. • The spores can settle on the lungs causing histoplasmosis, otherwise known as “cave disease.” Or, as the locals call it, fiebre de Tingo Maria, “Tingo Maria fever.” • #cavefever #oilbirds #tingomaria #cuevadelaslechuzas #peru #caving #nocturnal #troglophile (at Cueva de las Lechuzas - Tingo MarĂa) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3e7cKGhLLA/?igshid=1ndand5rvx9mc
