Medvedia Cave

The cave was discovered in 1952 and is one of our most important and richest palaeontologickal locations.

It is situated in the Slovak Paradise on the SE edge of the Glac Plateau, about 300 m above the present level of the Biely Brook. Entrance is situated at elevation of 905 m. by now, 497 m cave spaces with vertical span of 30 m were discovered and documented.

The cave can be characterized by horizontal passages of large dimensions, up to 14 m wide and from 2,5 m to 17 m high. Flowstone floor fill forming cascade rimstone dams is well developed here. Pole stalagmites up to 3 m high and of 5 to 12 cm diameter are well developed here. Colours are very varied in the cave. Cave sediments have flowstone material and fragments of light ochre fine-grained sandstone with parts of limonite concretions. Fluvial sediments are represented widely and consist of gravels, loams, sands with clay ingredients. Pebbles of Palaeogene sandstones are also present in the cave though of allochthonous origin.

Inside the cave, there were many skeleton remains of cave bear (Ursus spelaeus), mostly found in the loamy sediments. The age was dated to more than 15,000 years. The main factor for creation of cave spaces was the underground water course flowing in from WS direction in the depth of 40 to 80 m below the plateau level.

Nine bat species used to winter in the cave. The most abundant are the Greater Mouse-Eared Bat (Myotis myotis) and Lesser Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) and also the Geoffroy's bat (Myotis emarginatus). Crustaceans are represented by troglophilic isopod (Isopoda) Mesoniscus graniger. The most numerous are mites (Acarina) like troglophilic mites Parasitus loricatus and Gemmazetes cavatica. The entrance part occupies a troglophilic spider Meta menardi. Also troglophilic multipede Allorhiscosoma sphinx and rare ground beetle – Duvalius bokori are found here. The cave is a space of the first description of occurrence of the troglobitic springtail Arrhopalites aggtelekiensis and tiny depigmented spider Porrhomma campbeli in Slovakia. In summer the cave is visited by many flies and mosquitos. Regularly also the butterfly species Scoliopteryx libatrix and Triphosa dubiata winter in the cave.