caving safety rules

› Join a group! Join a group! Join a group!

› Get landowner permission if exploring a cave on private land.

› Never go caving alone. Go with at least one other person.

› Tell someone else where you are going and when you should be expected to return.

› Always take a secondary light source.

› Wear a helmet.

› Wear appropriate clothing.

get in free. For groups of 20 or more who schedule ahead, the cost is $3.75 plus tax per person. The last tour takes place around 3:30pm. The park is open seven days a week year-round, only closing on Thanksgiving and Christmas days.

“There are an array of caves in the area,” says Banta. “Ocala Limestone extends up into southern Georgia and southern Alabama, and this is a source of a lot of caverns and smaller caves throughout this region. There are another 30 caves here in the park, but none of them are for exploring by the general public. Some are home to the endangered gray bat, and these are nursery caves. The bats can easily be disturbed by voices or lights, and the caves have special legal protection.”

Other caves outside the park are available for exploration, but, as Atyeo stated, landowner permission is a must, and it’s always best to join a caving group that can get approval and provide the guidance needed to cave safely.

Atyeo says that the Marion County Parks and Recreation Department o ers a monthly guided tour of White Cli Cave at the Brick

City Adventure Park o SE 22nd Road in Ocala for those ages 8 and up. Tour registration costs $40 and includes caving gear. Participants can register online at marioncountyfl.org/parks or in person at the Parks and Recreation o ce. The hidden treasures nature has provided us under the ground, in reality, are much more valuable than the gold or diamonds we feverishly dug for in our backyards as children.

“Most people don’t realize what a vital resource caves are,” says Atyeo. Yes, they are beautiful and they are fun to explore, but caves also provide a home for endangered wildlife and are a direct link to the Floridan aquifer. If we destroy the natural environment in a cave, we could possibly destroy an entire species of animal—forever. And any garbage left in a cave could possibly introduce contaminants into the water we drink. Protecting caves goes beyond maintaining their natural beauty; it goes to protecting our environment, and ultimately our lives.”