Fossil Questions
Q: How many different kinds of fossils have you found in Riverbluff Cave? USD 356, Conway Springs, KS
A: We have found thousands of bones in Riverbluff.

Q: What is the most common fossil you have found in the cave? Haley, Hartville (MO) R-II
A: Rodent bones are the most common animal we have found.

Q: What is the name of the smallest fossil you have found in the cave? Dakota, Hartville (MO) R-II
A: Bones from bats are the smallest we have found so far.

Q: Have you ever had trouble figuring out how old a fossil is? USD 356, Conway Springs, KS
A: For the most part we do know the age of all fossils, however, we do not have an exact age on the surface material in the cave. So, we don’t know exactly how long ago the bears left their claw marks.

Q: Usually, how many types of fossils can be found in a cave of this type? USD 356, Conway Springs, KS
A: There is no set number, every cave is different. A cave could open up right next to Riverbluff Cave and not contain a single bone or fossil.

Q: Have you found a rare fossil in Riverbluff Cave? USD 356, Conway Springs, KS
A: Yes. The most unusual discovery was the fossil millipedes in the cave. They are so rare in fact that we have the only fossil millipedes from the Pleistocene (Ice Age) found in the world.

Q: How do you think some of the fossil organisms died? Or is it possible to tell that when studying a fossil? USD 356, Conway Springs, KS
A: Usually it is not possible to determine the cause of death with a fossil. The only way to tell is if they died of some disease that can be seen on the bone or fossil, or if the bone was bitten off, or gnawed on.

Q: Have you found any fish fossils in the cave? Brandon, Glenn Ullin, ND
A: Yes we have. We have a fish jaw and some vertebrae on display here at the Riverbluff Cave Field house.

Animals and Humans
Q: What kind of animals did you find in the cave? Nathan, Glenn Ullin, ND
A: We have found mammoth, horse, peccary, turtle, armadillo, feces from the giant short faced bear and the peccary, birds, snakes, rodents, millipedes, just to name a few.

Q: What are some of the different types of animal prints and fossils you have found in the cave besides the mammoth and the bear? McKenna, Hartville (MO) R-II
A: The different fossils found are listed above, as far as the prints go besides the bear we have the only known track ways for the peccary in the world, and we have a couple of cat claw marks, probably from the American Lion.

Q: Are any bats currently living in the cave? Samuel, West Platte (MO) R-II
A: No bats are currently living in the cave.

Q: Have you found any evidence that bats had lived in the cave? West Platte (MO) R-II
A: Yes, we have found bat bones in the cave.

Q: What did the bears look like? Holden (MO) R-III
A: The best thing to do is to go to our website or Google Giant Short Faced Bear to get an accurate picture. The statistics I can give you are that they were the largest bear that ever lived. They stood six feet at the shoulder while standing on all fours and were ten feet long from nose to tail. Standing on their hind legs they could reach up to 16 feet. They weighed about 2,000 pounds and could run 40 – 45 mph. We have found hair from the bear in our cave and it is a reddish brown color.

Q: How did the bears get into the cave since it was sealed? Mitchell, Glenn Ullin, ND
A: The cave is sealed now, but when the bears were coming in and out it was open. It had an opening just like any other cave.

Q: How big was the bear you talked about and was there just one bear or several of them? Quizonte, Slater (MO) Schools
A: They stood six feet at the shoulder while standing on all fours and were ten feet from nose to tail. Standing on their hind legs they could reach up to 16 feet. They weighed about 2,000 pounds and could run 40 – 45 mph. There were several of them in our cave. There probably was only one or two at one time.

Q: You mentioned fossils of mammoths. Did you find other evidence of other animals at the bears may have fed on? Greenfield (MO) R-IV
A: First off we have no evidence that the bear fed on the mammoth. They are close to 600,000 years apart in our cave. The only evidence in the cave of feeding is with the peccary bones we found. They were definitely bitten off. We aren’t certain if it was from the bear or the American Lion.

Q: Did you find a bear skull? Holden (MO) R-III
A: No, we have not found any bones from the bear in Riverbluff Cave.

Q: What did the bear eat? Holden (MO) R-III
A: The bear ate pretty much what ever meat was available. He was a carnivore and was a predator as well as a scavenger.

Q: Have you found any human bones or any prior human activity in the cave? Ryan, Slater (MO) Schools and Hayden, Holden (MO) R-III
A: No, the cave sealed shut at least 55,000 years ago and humans didn’t come into this area until around 13,000 years ago. Until Riverbluff Cave opened on 9/11/2001 no human had ever stepped foot inside.

Q: Have any humans been in the cave since it was found, except for Matt and his crew? Breanna, Slater (MO) Schools
A: Yes, we have had numerous scientists from all over the world inside the cave, as well as your occasional reporter and photographer.

Q: Did you find any evidence of Native Americans in the cave? Holden (MO) R-III
A: No, the cave sealed shut at least 55,000 years ago and humans didn’t come into this area until around 13,000 years ago. Until Riverbluff Cave opened on 9/11/2001 no human had ever stepped foot inside.

Q: How come the animals died that were in the cave? Jordan, Slater (MO) Schools
A: That is a huge mystery. Scientists do not know how or why these animals died out.

Q: How big are the millipedes? Zack, Osceola (MO) Schools
A: The longest fossil millipede we have is about one inch long. The live millipedes we have in the cave are about a half inch at most.

Q: What was the climate like when the mammoth was living in the cave? Donnavon, Hartville (MO) R-II
A: We don’t know for sure. We know the climate was changing from warm to cold at 660,000 years ago, but until we know the species of our mammoth, wooly or meridian, we won’t know for certain. Wooly Mammoths liked the cold weather and Meridian Mammoths like the warm weather.

Bones and Other Evidence
Q: Are there any dinosaur bones in the cave? Nathan, West Platte (MO) R-II
A: No, the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. The sediment in our cave has only dated back to 970,000 years ago. So our sediment is too young. The limestone our cave was formed in is 350 million years old, so the rock is too old for dinosaurs.

Q: Are there any molds of animals or formations that look like animals in the cave? Christian, Slater (MO) Schools
A: There are none that we have seen yet.

Q: Have you found any full skeletons in the cave? Jordan, Osceola (MO) Schools
A: We have found full skeletons of some snakes and rodents.

Q: What was the smallest bone ever found in the cave? Beth, Glenn Ullin, ND
A: The bones from the bats are the smallest we have found.

Q: What was the first bone that you saw in the cave? John, Glenn Ullin, ND
A: The first bone found in the cave was the black snake. It was found the very first day the cave was entered.

Minerals
Q: Are there any large minerals or non-native rocks in the cave? Kamri, Holden (MO) R-III
A: As far as large minerals we have very large formations in the cave. They are made from calcium carbonate and our largest is almost 20 feet tall and about 5 feet wide. There are no non-native rocks in the cave.

Organisms
Q: Can an organism survive in a dead cave, and if so, for how long? USD 356, Conway, KS
A: Yes, there are some organisms that can live in a cave regardless of it being alive or dead. Bats are good example. The cave doesn’t have to be geologically alive for bats to survive.

Q: If the organism is living in a cave, does that make the cave living? USD 356, Conway, KS
A: It depends on the type of organism. Some animals like a salamander can not survive in a dead cave, so if a cave has salamanders, yes it is an active cave.

Q: Can organisms live in a dead cave? USD 356, Conway, KS
A: Some organisms like bats can live in a dead cave.