Bats in the cave

Hibernating Daubenton's Bat, Myotis daubentoni, in Wolfram mine, Bjerkreim, Norway
Canon EOS1D Mark III, Sigma 150mm makro f/2,8, 1sek @ f/22, ISO 250, flashlight

Today I’ve been caving with a couple of mates, specializing in bats. We had got a permit and were hoping to find hibernating bats in this previously unexplored cave. There is a sever lack of knowledge regarding hibernating bats in Norway, and we were hoping for an exclusive discovery. After just a short walk into the mine we found a single Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentoni), sleeping like a baby in a hole in the roof. This is, to our knowledge, the first of this kind to be found in the area of Bjerkreim, where these mines are located. Unfortunately this was the only bat we found today, but the mine is big and several routs are still unexplored.

The cave was actually an old Wolfram mine, and just walking into it was a thrill. There were remains to be seen everywhere. The tracks were still on the ground, and sometimes we could almost feel the presence of the miners working here a hundred years ago.