The animals died and fell to the ocean floor, millions of years ago, eventually becoming a part of the limestone or dolomite bedrock in the cave. Black bears often use caves to hibernate in. Of course, bats live in caves. But not all bats. Only certain bats use the cave exclusively, either roosting singly, or in dense clusters with several hundred bats per square foot of the cluster.
Some bat species live in caves only during the summer, some during the winter.
But some live in caves all year. Bat droppings, called guano piles, are a nutrient source for bacteria, fungi and some small animals in the caves. Some caves contain streams and pools. Here, salamanders flourish and the pickerel frog overwinters. Other creatures like aquatic isopods, small flatworms called planaria, crayfish, aquatic snails, fish and amphipods live in the water.