The Royal Ontario Museum Bat Cave (French: French: La Grotte des chauves-souris) is a gallery at the Royal Ontario Museum that presents wax sculptures of bats in their simulated natural habitat.[1] Consisting of twenty species of bats, among a variety of invertebrates, the gallery allows visitors to learn about the behaviour and biology of bats, through engaging in various educational panels, videos and models.[2]
It is currently located on the second level, of the Philosopher's Walk Wing in the museums Heritage Building.[2]
The bat cave was originally built in the 1980s as a replica of the 3km (02miles) St. Clair Cave in Jamaica.[3] In the early 2000s however, the Royal Ontario Museum received a grant to renovate the cave among two new Roman and Byzantine Galleries.[3] [4] Thus updated sound effects, dim lighting, and rock models were incorporated to make the cave appear more realistic. Today, the exhibit stands at .[3] With over 300 new wax models of bats and bugs that are even more authentic than before,[3] visitors now also have an opportunity to see bald pink baby bats, amidst an eerie dark backdrop that has come to be known as the nursery cave.[3]
Before guests enter the mouth of the Bat Cave, there is a series of panels that address various common questions and curiosities concerning bats and their natural habitat.[5] Guests learn about how bats navigate in the dark, how they see, how they travel through the dark and if they are similar to humans.[5] In addition, guests learn about their current patterns of behaviour and eating habits, among many other things presented in formats on the wall.[5]
At the Cave Mouth, there are a variety of other descriptions that historicize how the cave was modelled after the St. Clair Cave in Jamaica.[5] The panel presents a detailed account of what the cave looks, sounds and smells like. It informs the visitors of the kinds of insects and bats they would see if they were to visit the cave.[5]
There is also a Bat Cave Field Guide that helps visitors identify the six species of bats they may encounter in the cave.[5]
Within the bat cave lies a variety of bats, cockroaches and other invertebrates that simulate a realistic portrayal of the St. Clair Cave in Jamaica.[5]
There are currently the following areas in the cave: