Hidden behind a waterfall in Mount Elgon National Park, the Kitum Cave is one of five named “elephant caves,” so-called because they are visited by pachyderms who “mine” the rock for its sodium-rich salts.
Sometimes, entire families visit, scraping the walls with their tusks and then eating the bits they dislodge. If this sounds like a scene from the Jungle Book, think again, because elephants aren’t the only animals in the Kitum Cave.
- It's 3 million years old, the size of Vikos Gorge and is home to one of the world's weirdest animals – the 'human fish'
- It's a staggering 300 metres underground, features amazing 11-metre-tall crystals – and has a deadly 90% humidity level
There are bats. Tens of thousands cling to the walls and ceiling of the cave, which stretches more than 200 metres into the mountain. Their droppings fall to the floor, creating a thick layer of pungent, ammonia-rich guano. That’s not the only danger, however.
In the 1980s, two visitors to the cave died after catching a virus carried by the cave’s Egyptian fruit bats. The virus doesn’t hurt the bats, but it causes internal bleeding when it infects people. This is known as Marburg virus disease, and it has a fatality rate of up to 88%.
There are currently no vaccines or antiviral treatments, so the cave is best left its elephant explorers, who are immune.
