After about half an hour of going uphill and downhill, we reached a forested ridge in the jungle. There was the entrance of Malasang Cave – or so it was called. It was very muddy inside. We ventured in for over 50m or so, but there was a pool of water and I feared getting deeply stuck in the mud. The place was inhabited by a loud colony of bats, which were flying around frantically in the light of “The place was inhabited by a loud colony of bats, which were flying around frantically in the light of my torch”
Bats in the tunnel of Malasang Cave, north of Buka
cockatoos flying above. I am always intrigued by the number of endemic birds found in the Bougainville-Buka region, which
is part of the greater Solomon Islands region and quite distinct from the avifauna of Papua New Guinea.
VOLUME 39 2024
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